Orange and Black
by Kouya-kun
Summary: Alfred thought he'd never see the day that he didn't have someone to take to his school's annual Halloween dance. With only days left and his least favorite Russian being the only candidate left, Alfred finds just how far his his own pride and desperation with push him to get a date. .:RusAme, Slight FrUk, High School AU:.
1. A Dance

**Edit: **Well, believe it or not, I'm going back through and editing/ rewriting some chapters so that they aren't as fail as before (because who are we kidding, they kind sucked). I'll try not it interfere with getting the next chapter up, I promise, but just don't get too excited if you get updates faster than usual, because they probably won't be the next chapter.

Anyway! Like I said in my first A/N, I started this after listening to a song, and it wouldn't leave me alone for the longest time. So, ta-da!

* * *

_Boo!_

_It's that time of the year again, so bring your friends and costumes_

_to WW Academy's Halloween Dance!_

_Will be held after week of the Fall Festival, and will mark the beginning of Fall break._

_Dance will be held in the school's gym on October 31,_

_7:00-12:00 PM_

_Happy Halloween!_

Alfred stood in the front of the mob of high school students that had gathered to read the announcement. As more kids finished reading it, excited murmur arose from the crowd. Alfred himself was smiling like an idiot at his boyfriend, Arthur. Yeah, that's right. Boyfriend. Who says one normal guy in high school can't be gay?

Well, apparently said guy's boyfriend. Arthur was just being a prude, though, as Alfred always made sure to remind him of in case - heaven forbid - Arthur forgot it. This dance would change that, though. Alfred already had it planned. They would show up in awesome, matching costumes, be all couple-like and stuff, and then the world would know that they were together.

Of course, the first thing for that to happen was to get Arthur to go to the dance.

"Hey, hey, Iggy!" Alfred called the Brit by his nickname, "We should totally go to the dance together!"

Arthur looked at him like he had just said the stupidest thing in the world, blonde caterpillar eyebrows dropping down to glare at the other.

"Why the bloody Hell would I want to go to the dance? It's just an opportunity for a bunch of buffoons to do inappropriate things in large crowds."

Alfred whined and gave his best puppy dog look, which wasn't actually that good, but seemed to work on Arthur a lot. "Pleeeeeaaase? I'll love you forever and ever if you do!"

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no."

"You could wear that pirate costume you've always wanted to try!" If that didn't work, he didn't know what would.

Arthur once had a pirate complex-which Alfred though was adorable-that he had long sine gotten over. At least, that's what he kept saying. Alfred knew that the British man still yearned for a pirate's life when he saw the twinkle in his eye when they saw Pirates of the Caribbean last week.

"...I don't know. I'll think about i-"

"Yes!" Alfred jumped and fist pumped the air. When Arthur said, "I'll think about it," he always ended up saying yes.

The hyper blonde grabbed the others hand and yanked him forward as he pushed his way out of the crowd, careful to avoid pushing Ivan, the large Russian who had just showed up to see what the commotion was about.

The mass of students was cleared out in a few seconds. Only a few brave ones and some girls who were still too caught up in blabbing to each other to notice him stuck around.

Ivan took one glance at the orange and black flyer before rolling his eyes and leaving. Dances were so stupid. What was the point of them? Bonding time with classmates? More like mating time with people you're never going to see again. Just for the experience? If you really want to dance with others, there are plenty of clubs and underground raves in this country, and he was sure those were a lot more fun than here. Celebrating the holiday? It's a holiday; it isn't like it will never happen again. And there are much better ways to celebrate it than dancing awkwardly in a sweaty gym space.

Ivan had never been to a dance in his life, and didn't plan on changing that. Besides, who would he go with? Everyone was too afraid of him to even look him in the eye most of the time, let alone dance with him.

Unlike that idiot, Alfred. How everyone liked that moron, Ivan didn't know. But it didn't matter. Ivan knew that he would become the most successful in business, take over the world, and everyone would belong to him.

He chuckled evilly as he passed by the American in question and his large group of friends, the Russian's murderous aura reaching them.

"Man, that dude scares the crap out of me! Did you guys see the look in his eyes?" Alfred turned back to his friends. He spoke quieter than usual; afraid the bear of a man would hear him and decide to kill him in his sleep. With a rock.

"Yes, he looked quite intimidating," Kiku, their Japanese friend agreed.

"It's just not awesome how he goes around all creepy like that! I don't see how you all are afraid of him though. Then again, the awesome me isn't afraid of anything!" Gilbert, their German - no, Prussian - friend piped in.

"Dude~! What if he tries to go all terrorist on us and bombs us all?" Alfred whined.

"Poor guy. Sometimes I think all he needs is a little bit of _l'amour_~" Francis cooed. Alfred scoffed at the idea.

"Good luck with that. Who would want to _l'amour _him?"

" Imbécile! You have misused the French language!"

"I don't care!" Alfred hissed at his French friend, falling into a silent pout.

Kiku was the first to speak up again. "Sometimes, I fear that one day he will not be paying attention as he walks down the halls, and he will run me over and squash me like a bug." The others nodded in agreement.

It _was_ a possibility. Despite Kiku being older than almost all of them, he was by far the shortest of the group, being just a few centimeters over five feet. Ivan on the other hand, was just over six feet.

"Don't worry, aru! Big brother Yao will protect you!" the Chinese announced and tried to captured Kiku in a bear hug, which was easily rebuffed by Kiku.

Ivan listened to the friends' teasing from around the corner, a small frown of jealousy painted across his face. They were all such good friends - _Alfred _had such good friends. He didn't understand why people liked Alfred so much, yes, and it irritated him to no end, but he still wished he wasn't as alone as he was now.

* * *

_It's about time lunch rolled around!_ Alfred had thought that bio chemistry would never end, and he was starving! Seriously, who needed to know about beta sheet proteins? He sure didn't. He needed to know what was on the menu today.

For the third time that week, the sky was overcast and rain was beginning to spatter the concrete sidewalks; lunch would have to be in the cafeteria today.

Once the line for food began to move, the tables quickly filled up with students and their buddies. Alfred sat down with his cheeseburger and milk at the table with Arthur, Francis, Kiku, Yao, Matthew, and Gilbert. Soon, the whole table was caught up in an intense debate over what the real meaning of a number was. He didn't have much to say, and mostly agreed with whoever said something that sounded intelligent.

he almost didn't notice Ivan sitting at the table in the corner, alone. Sure, Toris, Raivis, and Eduard were there, but it was obvious they didn't want to be. For a moment, Alfred felt kind of bad for the guy. But it was only for a moment.

As soon as it had come, the sympathy was gone and replaced with his natural hatred. He turned back to his friends and ignored the Russian like he always did. Why should he have to bother with a low life such as Ivan when he had a great group of friends and an awesome boyfriend whom he was taking to the dance?

No reason at all.


	2. Warnings

Again, I decided to edit and re-uplode this chapter because I wasn't satisfied with the quality. Some of the events that happen in this are different, but they don't have an effect on the plot line of this story. Enjoy!

**Warning: **Editing skill level: Gorilla

* * *

"So…would you like to go to the dance with me?" another random girl asked Alfred today. It had been two day since the dance was announced, and already half of the school had asked him to go with them. Most of the requests were from girls, but there were a few boys here and there.

Al said no to all of them. He never said why or even said he was sorry. What was the point if the answer was still the same?

Even if he wasn't already with Arthur, he still would have declined. Almost any other male on the planet would have jumped a the chance to take a girl like this out; she had clear skin, pale green eyes, and chocolate brown hair that flowed like a river. Not to mention her clothes could have been made for a ten year old they were so tight around her body. Indeed, most of the male population would be thanking lady luck right about now, but Alfred wasn't like most of the male population.

"No," he said blatantly.

"What? Why not~?" Alfred felt a few cells in his ears be violently destroyed. Whines should never reach that decibel.

"I said no, and that's my answer. I'm not going with you," spending so much time with the prude Brit, he had gotten used to occasionally being cold towards others.

The girl stood up to full height and scoffed, crossing her arms. "What's you problem, Al? You've said no to every single person who's asked you so far. What, do you think you're too good for anyone? Is that it?" Her voice was really beginning to annoy Alfred, something that wasn't hard to do.

"No, I don't think that. I have my reasons, okay? Reasons that people like you don't need to know."

"People like me?" she rested her hands on her hips, resting her weight on one leg. "What's that supposed to mean? People like you who think they're oh-so-great just because they have 'reasons' means that you can be a dick-wad to everyone below you are the ones that I think need a reality check."

"You kind of deserved that insult, mon amie."

Alfred groaned before he turned to see Francis leaning on the desk next to his.

"Whatever, man. I just wish Arthur and I could come out of hiding and tell people we were together, maybe then I'd stop getting harassed by theses crazy fan girls," a small bruise was beginning to form on his lower cheek, Alfred could feel the welt swelling,

He looked back at the French man. Francis was sitting on the desk like before, but now he was tensed up and looked far away, like he had just remembered something.

"I'm sorry, if you'll excuse me, I have personal matters to attend to. I'm sure Arthur will come around with your relationship soon enough," Francis left the classroom and strode out the door, leaving a semi-confused American behind.

Alfred caught a certain Russian staring at him from the opposite corner, peeking over the cover of a book. "What are you, looking at?"

Ivan smirked and set his book down, marking his page, "Just thinking."

"Thinking."

"Da. Not about much, but probably more than you do in a day. You really are being rude to these girls."

"I never asked for your opinion. Why are you butting into my life anyway?"

"I find your idiocy amusing."

"Fuck you, commie."

"No thank you, I'd rather keep my distance. Who knows what diseases you have?"

Alfred sputtered, cheeks flushing. "That's - that's not what I...!" Oh, Alfred got it now. Ivan was just trying to get him flustered. Well, that wasn't going to work on Alfred.

He took a breath, and glared at Ivan. "I really don't like you."

"The feelings mutual," somehow Ivan had kept that creepy smile on his face this whole time.

Alfred couldn't put up with this anymore.

He left the room quickly, desperately willing the blood to drain from his cheeks. Alfred was mad at himself for letting that comment get to him; he shouldn't have been thinking of that mental image that had been painted in his mind. Damn his overactive imagination. Now he needed brain bleach.

* * *

"Bonjour, mon amour!" Francis called to Arthur once he spotted him at his lockers. Arthur sighed and turned to the French man.

"Would it kill you to speak English? Also, don't call me that," he said as he closed his locker, leaning against the closed door, arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh come now, it's not like you don't understand it~. And why shouldn't I call you that?" Francis stepped closer to the other blonde, a flirtatious look in his eyes. "C'est vrai~"

"Shut up, stupid frog. H-hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Francis had put both hand on either side of the Brit's head, trapping him as he leaned in an inch or two closer.

"I'm doing what I want to do, chérie~" Francis leaned in even closer, touching their foreheads together. The smaller of the two pushed at his chest, attempting to get him off, but Francis was stronger than some might guess.

"Francis, stop this shenanigans! We can't do this," Arthur was finally able to duck under the other's arms and escape the barrier.

Francis pouted and asked, "Why not?"

"B-because, we're in school! And Alfred could come around any minute..." Arthur trailed off. Francis smiled and held Artur's cheek in his palm. He titled his head to the side, giving Arthur a sympathetic gaze.

"You still haven't broken it to him?"

"No...but don't think him walking in on us would be the best way to tell him..."

Francis smiled softly at the blonde and leaned in, "Don't worry, mon cher. We will tell him eventually."

Arthur nodded slowly and hooked his arms around the French man's neck, accepting the hug that came his way. He and Francis had been together behind Alfred's back for a few months now, and he was ready to end his relationship with Alfred. It wasn't going anywhere in his eyes, and he liked being with Francis more, even though he was a perverted pain in the ass - literally. Arthur was no virgin to Francis' notorious overflowing passion.

This was why he didn't want to go to the dance with Alfred; he had already made "special" plans with Francis for that night, plans that Alfred was definitely not invited to, or would want to be. He didn't want to crush the little idiot though, so he had delayed the break up for while. Now the procrastinating was coming back to him, as telling him now would be the worst timing ever.

He would have to break the news to him soon. Maybe he could get someone else to do it for him...

* * *

Ivan closed his book after five minutes of Alfred leaving, already bored. He had read that novel five times over by now, and he already knew it by heart.

Free period was boring as usual, and he felt the need to wonder the halls to see if he could find a small kid to scare a little. He had barely made it out the door when he hear a loud thump from the hall around the corner. It sounded hollow and metallic, like something had been thrown against the lockers. He briefly wondered if there was a fight going on and decided to check it out.

When he got a good look at the source of the thump, he could see it was definitely not a fight. He recognized the two as Arthur and Francis, at least he was relatively sure that's who is was; it was hard to tell with their bodied intertwined like that. They only way they could possibly get any closer was if they shed their clothes and got down too it (although Ivan couldn't be sure, they looked pretty into it from this angle).

Ivan saw this everyday between the horny teenagers in their school, and he had a feeling the French man liked the Brit. However, he was also one of the only ones who had figured out that Alfred and Arthur were dating, and he was surprised that Arthur would cheat. He just didn't seem like that kind of guy.

However, this wasn't his business, so Ivan backed away and left, deciding it was better to just forget that ever happened. He turned left down the next hall, and ran into a barrier.. A short, flimsy, stupid wall.

"Woad dude, sorry I didn't-oh. It's you, stupid commie," Alfred glared up at the platinum blonde before him.

"Please, Fredka, I would prefer if you not call me a communist," Ivan sighed.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Solving my boredom. You?"

"Looking for Arthur. Now if you'll move aside, I have a British boy to yell at for not being easier to find," Alfred pushed past Ivan and began to make his way towards the next hall. He was gong for the hall Ivan had just come from.

You know that irrational part of you that kicks in at the most random of times, and makes you do things you would never do otherwise? Well, that tiny part made Ivan hold Alfred back. "Ah, Fredka, wait!"

"Didn't I tell you a few months ago to stop calling me that? What do you want?" Alfred was really irritated with Ivan right now.

"Ah..." what was something he could say that didn't sound made up on the spot? "I take it you already have a date to the Halloween dance, da?"

"...Yeah...you're point?" Alfred became wary; he didn't recall ever telling anybody that he already had someone.

"Oh, nothing. Just curious about why you chose Arthur when you could have chosen anyone. Most people here are better than him"

"W-what? Who ever said I was going with Ig-I mean Arthur? We're just friends."

"That's a lie and we both know it."

"..."

They were both silent for a minute, each waiting to see if the other would speak first so they wouldn't have to.

"How did you know about me and Arthur?" Alfred finally asked.

"It wasn't that hard to tell. It's obvious in your movements that you like him, your just too obvious to keep anything like that a secret," Ivan taunted.

"That's not true! Nobody but you and some of our friends have found out. I can keep a secret just fine!" Alfred humphed. It wasn't that obvious was it? It couldn't be, since so many had asked him out already.

"Yes, yes. Whatever you say, Fredka," from the corner of his eyes, Ivan could see Arthur and Francis parting, finally. That was his cue to leave. He swiftly turned around and walked away, leaving a more irritated American behind him.


	3. Betting on a Heartbreak

Hello! I just wanted to say thanks so much for all of your wonderful reviews! They make me so happy to read, and helped me get through last week, since we had a shit load of homework. So even though it's a little short, here's the next chapter!

* * *

Stupid Ivan. Because of the commie bastard, Alfred couldn't find Arthur before the next period bell echoed through the halls. Now he was going to be sick during class because of those terrible mental images that were now implanted in his mind.

He groaned and dragged his feet down the corridor past the large trophy cases and colorful posters for clubs, events, flyers telling you to go green or be torched alive by the flames that the world would turn into if you didn't put your empty Coke cans in the aluminum recycling bin instead of the trash. Of course, stapled to the dry wall every five feet were those orange papers announcing the dance. It had begun to bother Alfred that Arthur still hadn't given him a solid answer, but he knew he would say yes anyway, so there was no use worrying about it.

Alfred sighed as he swung open the door to world history class two minutes early. Thankfully, this was one of the few classes he didn't have with Ivan, so hopefully he could clear his mind with the boring words in the text books.

The teacher ambled in with some papers clutched under his arm, red marks at the top of each one; they were getting tests back today. Of course, it would be a test that none of them remembered taking, since he always returned papers about a month after they were actually turned in.

This wasn't what Alfred needed, though. Whenever they got something back, it meant that they were given the whole period to go over it and note what they got wrong so they could study it for the finals at the end of the semester. No one really did this though, and it just turned into a whole period of napping, reading, or playing Tetris on your cellphone under the desk while the teacher wasn't looking.

Alfred didn't need that! He needed to be distracted so he wouldn't have to keep thinking about things that he'd rather not!

He had no choice though. This test had apparently been on U.S. history, so of course, Alfred aced it. Alfred groaned and slid down in his seat, trying to think of other things. What was that new burger that was being released at McDonalds? When was the new episode of Scrubs on? Which reminded him, he needed to give Gilbert a talk about hitting on his brother and Elizabetha like that, Matthew wasn't into him, and the Hungarian was taken. Speaking of which, the music video for Greenday's newest song was totally beast! Maybe they would have lots of pizza at the dance. Arthur would probably get mad if he didn't clean out his locker soon, it was still full of hate mail he had yet to send to Ivan...

Alfred nearly yanked some of his hair out. It was impossible, no matter what his thoughts always went to Ivan. Well, it was a tie between food, Arthur, and Ivan, but that was still way too much for Alfred. He let out a long puff of breath before laying his head in his arms on the desk. If he couldn't clear his mind by thinking, maybe he could nap it off.

Closing his eyes for that long was a mistake. His mind immediately remembered that one comment that Ivan had made. _"Fuck you, commie bastard!" "No thank you, I'd rather keep my distance..."_

Those stupid thoughts from earlier came back, more vivid this time. Somehow, his mind came up with clear images of him and Ivan, some of them blushing and breathless, others of them sweaty and naked as they rolled around in covers. It made Alfred sick. This was just one of the downs to having an overactive imagination; you think of these things, even if you don't want to. And all because stupid Ivan had to make that stupid comment and change the stupid meaning of Alfred's words!

Thankfully, Alfred's jacket sleeves hid his blush well. The American shook his head, momentarily ridding his mind of those bad thoughts again. He knew he shouldn't be thinking of things like that, because 1) it was disgusting, 2) he was with Arthur, 3) he hated Ivan, 4) it was't something you should be thinking about in the middle of school.

Somehow, Alfred was able to get through the rest of the period without further interruption from his perverse mind. Now he was a free man once again!

He went to his locker, stuffed anything that looked important into his book bag, and bounded to the front of the school to wait for Arthur. He was starting to feel guilty for thinking about Ivan like that (again, it's not like he wanted to, though), and decided it'd be cool to give Arthur a ride home. It wouldn't be a problem, since the Brit's house was on the way to his own.

Alfred waited as the outside door a for a few minutes before finally getting bored. If Arthur wouldn't come to him, he'd go to Arthur. It didn't take long. He found the bushy browed boy and Francis at the water fountain. It looked like they were having another one of their pointless fights.

"Hey guys! What's up!" Alfred called out. It looked like they were out of hearing distance though, with the noise of the other students chatting and laughing with their friends. He was about to call out again, when he noticed something.

Arthur and Francis were definitely arguing over something, but they were holding hands...why were they holding hands? Alfred tried not to jump to conclusions so quickly. Friends did that right? It was normal for friends to hold hands without it meaning anything, right? Alfred watched for a little longer.

Why, oh why did the universe hate him so? Apparently, no, it's not normal for friends to hold hands without it meaning something. It was a quick action, but so painfully obvious when Francis leaned down and pecked the other's lips. Arthur didn't protest.

Well, was it normal for two friends to kiss without it meaning anything? Well, maybe in France or Italy, but this was America, and those two had lived here long enough to follow American standards.

Alfred didn't quite know what to feel. A part of him wanted to keep believing that he was missing something, and this wasn't what it looked like. Another part wanted to go over there and punch them both in the face. Another wanted to cry. Then there was the part that told him to go home and deal with it later. He chose the last option.

He just couldn't believe it. Had Arthur really cheated on him? Could it be true? What should he do? What _could_ he do? He wasn't paying much attention as he drove home. A voice in the back of his mind told him he might get a ticket, but he didn't care.

Arthur had cheated on him. With _Francis _of all people. Didn't those two hate each other's guts? Alfred vaguely remembered his friend Antonio mention that it was really just sexual tension, but that had been so long ago Alfred questioned if the Spaniard had really said that, or if it was just something his brain had made up.

_"I will warn you once, Arthur can't be trusted. Break up with him now, for your own good."_ That's right. Ivan had even told him that Arthur was disloyal. Did that mean Ivan had known? How would he know something like that? Oh wait, that's right, Ivan was a creepy stalker person that knew everything about everyone.

If Ivan had known, why didn't he say anything! It would have spared Alfred the heart ache he had now. Oh wait, Ivan _had_ told him. It was a little short on notice, but he had told him none the less. However, that brought up the question, why did the Russian say anything in the first place? Didn't he hate Alfred as much as the other hated him?

You know what? Alfred really didn't feel like thinking right now. He parked the mini van in their house's driveway and went inside through the garage. He slammed the door shut behind him, and started to go straight to his room. He could feel the tears beginning to prick the corner of his eyes, and that familiar burning in his throat. He hoped his mom wouldn't greet him and try to ask how his day was; there would be no stopping an emotional break down if that happened. What he needed right now was his American flag teddy bear, his bed, and his brother to comfort him.

Once in his room, Alfred stripped off his jacket and jeans, and replaced them with a grey hoodie and red pajama pants. Leaving his homework for later, he went straight to his twin brother's room that was directly next to his. When they were little, Alfred had insisted on having separate rooms, saying that he didn't need his brother there with him 24/7. Now he regretted ever mentioning it.

Matthew opened the door a few seconds after Alfred knocked, expression changing to that of worry at the look on his twin's face. It was rare to see Alfred so upset and quiet. He let the other in without a word, making sure the door was shut before he spoke up.

"What happened?"

Alfred sniffed and began telling his brother the story. Matthew was the only other person who knew about him and Arthur. Once he was done, Matthew looked at him solemly. He didn't say anything, and instead got up from his seat across from Alfred and instead sat next to him on the bed, wrapping his arms around him. Alfred instantly returned the hug, letting a few tears slip, but only the ones that were already there. He was a hero, and hero's didn't show their tears. Only Matty was allowed to see the few that got out.

"I'm sorry, Al. This wasn't your fault though. Arthur just hasn't realized how great you are and ran off to Francis, which was stupid and immature." Matthew whispered to his brother comfortingly.

"I-I know, but I can't help but think that this is partly my fault. I should have noticed sooner!"

"I know you think that, but don't believe it, okay? Okay?" Matthew looked Alfred in the eye until the other nodded solemnly. The two ended up staying in the same room for the rest of the night - homework forgotten - just catching up with each other.

Alfred didn't feel like going to school tomorrow, so Matthew agreed to call in sick for him, saying that he felt dizzy or something.

Matthew assured his brother that it would be okay and that the whole thing would blow by soon enough. Alfred only wished it was that simple.

* * *

Staying home wasn't something that was particularlly entertaining, especially with a mom like the one Alfred had. Her rules were few, but insanely strict. If you were staying home from school for whatever reason, there would be no video games, no TV, no building a bomb in the garage, and no playing with the blender while the lid was off, which just so happened to be Alfred's past time.

The now-single blonde lay in his bed, staring at the fan as it spun around slowly. Around and around and around and around.

Now Alfred really _was_ starting to feel dizzy.

He had woken up on instinct at seven that morning, waited until everyone had left, did his normal morning routine, then gone right back to bed. He managed to sleep until 10:30, but that was it. Now he had spent the last hour staring at the fan and other things in his room that could be looked at for long periods of time. Alfred just didn't really feel like thinking to hard about things, so opted for just letting his questions go unanswered for the moment.

Why Francis? Why now? Why didn't anyone tell him (Ivan had, but he didn't count)? How long had this been going on? Why did Arthur cheat in the first place? Alfred's dizzy mind decided these were questions that could wait for another time. There were a few things though that kept bugging him. Who would he go with to the dance now? Maybe he just wouldn't even go to the dance; it's not like there was anyone else he would like to go with...

The loud grumble of his stomach brought Alfred back to his senses. It was lunch time, and he hadn't eaten anything all day. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up, not bothering to brush out the wrinkles in his clothes. It wasn't like there was anyone to tell him to do so.

To the hungry teenagers delight, there was still leftover burger patties from the night before in the fridge. He took out two and popped them into the microwave, cooking them until they were hot and juicy again. Being the lazy butt Alfred was, he didn't bother with buns or anything else, just squirted on some ketchup and mustard and started to eat. His lunch was gone in no more than two minutes.

He never liked washing his plate, but a lecture from Mom was sure to come if the dishes were left out, so he ran the sink water and began to scrub down the grease plate. Alfred's work was interrupted by the phone ringing.

Alfred sighed and turned off the water long enough to pick up the wall phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Al. Wassup? Where are you, dude?" by the accent, Alfred knew it was Glibert calling. From where was what he didn't know, but probably from the school phone.

"Let's see, you called my house, and I answered. Where do _you_ think I am?"

"Ugg, that's not what I meant!" Alfred smiled. He always loved pestering the Prussian for some reason.

"I know, I know. I'm staying home today 'cause...well, let's just say I really don't feel like seeing certain people's faces today," Alfred sighed into the reciever.

"What happened? Who don't you want to see?"

"Well," Alfred had been friends with Gilbert for a while now, and the albino was surprisingly trustworthy when he wanted to be, so he felt comfortable with telling what happened."...I found out yesterday that Arthur was cheating on me with Francis."

"_Mein gott_, really? That unawesome bastard! Did you break up with him yet? I swear, next time I see that little fucker I'll give him a piece of my mind-!"

"Gilbert, I don't want to make this a personal matter for you..."

There was an angry growl from the other end of the line, "Whatever. But if you need me to beat someone up for you, I'll do it. You know that.'

"Gil, no, it's okay. You don't need to anything. I'm the hero, and hero's don't need their friends to take care of what they can do themselves, right?"

There was a chuckling on the other end of the line. "That's Alfred for you. Glad to know you plan on giving that dude hell though."

"Heh! You know it!" The two laughed for a bit before there was a weighted silence.

"So, uh, hey. If you two aren't together anymore...who are you going to the dance with?" Funny that he would mention that.

"Well, I don't really know. I don't know if I'm even going to the dance anymore.

"Oh. Heh, well, it's not like you could get a date anyway. You already rejected everyone else! By now they've all gotten other people to go with."

Alfred's ego started to kick in right about now, and jumped at the chance to defend himself. "That's not true! Of course I can still get a date! There are plenty of people who are still available and would be honored to go with me."

"Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that, kesesese."

Again, ego. "It's true! I bet you I could still get a date by the end of next week!"

"...I bet thirty dollars you can't."

Oh great, now it was an official bet. Alfred couldn't back out now, he's seem like a total chicken! Alfred sighed and accepted the bet, saying he _could_ get a date by the end of the following week. It was Wednesday, meaning he had this week, and until Friday after that. Ten days. He could do it, no sweat!

"Can't wait for my thirty dollars! Later!" the Prussian said before hanging up. Alfred put the phone down on the counter and went back to his room. Flopping down on his mario beanbag chair in the corner, he pulled out a yearbook from the shelf next to him. It was time to search for a new date

* * *

That last part there I actually just added on. I felt bad for leaving it there, so I decided to add that much.

Review!


	4. Pride

Heya people! I'm sorry that my school is stupid and gives us lots of homework. Here's the next chapter! Sorry for any errors, this wasn't edited in least bit (then again, they usually aren't) so I apologize for that in advance. Enjoy!

* * *

The guilt was finally starting to set in. Every time he flipped a page and saw the faces of every girl (and a few boys) he had rejected so harshly, their smiling faces would contort into those of rejection, sadness, anger, disgust, or all of the above. Did Alfred really need to be so cruel? Probably not, but he still had, and now the shame was affecting his confidence.

With the way he treated all of these people, why would they want to go to the dance with him after that? He was sure a few of them did't even want to see his face again, and there was no doubt that Alfred's locker would soon be filling up with it's fare share of death threats, hate mail and possibly stalker mail that mixed in with love confessions, secret crushes and everything else that he had to clean out to make room for his and Arthur's stuff.

Oh wait, now it would only be Alfred's crap that got lost behind the black, red, pink, and white envelope, because there was no way he was going to let that cheating bastard keep his personal items in _his _locker.

Which reminded him, he would half to call the ex and break it to him that he was an ex. Oh well, that could wait for later. There were thirty precious dollars on the line, and Alfred didn't plan to procrastinate with this.

He turned to the back of the book where his personal student directory was. It was a custom at WW Academy to leave your phone number with your signature in a year book, even if you didn't really want random people to call you. Since Alfred had made a point last year to get every person on campus at that time to sign (that included some very confused people who didn't even attend), he had everyone's numbers, right there.

This was also a good system for prioritizing. The difference between the signature pages in the year book and a regular directory, is you could tell what terms you were on with anyone else. If they liked you, the wrote something nice. If they had a crush on you, they would usually be shy about what they say, but it would always be a little flirty. If they didn't really know you, it'd be a simple signature and number. If they hated you, well, if they hated you, they usually wrote something pretty nasty, as you could expect.

Alfred immediately honed in on the names with hearts and smiley faces written around them. These were the ones he would try first.

"Tatyana Croix..." he read aloud before writing her number down on a discarded piece of paper, then moving on to the next one.

"Lacy McCarthy..." He repeated the process.

"Alice Modine..."

"Alena Morgue..."

"Patricia Lowell..."

"Feliks-oh wait that's a guy...that's kind of scary..."

Alfred continued like this for almost thirty minutes before he had both sides of his crumpled scrap paper. It shouldn't be too hard to find one person from the list who wanted to go with him.

With a satisfied sigh, Alfred stuck the slip into his back pocket for later. Everyone was still in school, so there would be no point in calling them then. Now, he just had to entertain himself until 3:30 passed around, and he could get started on winning that bet.

* * *

It was quiet that day, too quiet. It didn't take more than five minutes after coming into school for Ivan to find the cause of the silence. The annoying American wasn't there.

Hmm, yesterday he told Alfred that his "boyfriend" was cheating on him, and now the idiot wasn't here today... it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Ivan's bet: Alfred had found out anyway, despite his own attempt to save him some of the pain. Looking back on it, Ivan didn't know why he even tried. He didn't have any reason to do something for the American, and said American didn't have any reason to listen to him. It just didn't matter.

And yet, Ivan still felt bad for Alfred, and even a little mad at himself. For what, though? For failing to warn Alfred on time? For not being able to do something about it? It wasn't his problem, and with any luck, it never would be.

But he still felt guilty.

Classes went by smoother and faster without that loud commentary that usually took place in every class they had together. Lunch was pretty much the same, since he sat away from everyone else except for his three little slaves. The four of them ate in silence and either tuned out or listened in on the rooms conversations. It was the usual; who's going to the dance with who, who will have the best costume, where they'll be going to get wasted afterwards and (hopefully) get stuck out on the streets and get eaten by cannibal hobos. Just the norm.

People began to finish their lunch, and the crowd of people in the hall thinned out. Ivan was careful to never be late to class, so he threw away his leftovers and left the relieved smaller boys at the table to get his books.

Out the cafeteria door, Gilbert was at the school phone. Gilbert glared at Ivan with as much hate as he could muster before returning to his conversation. Ivan didn't stick around to hear much of it, but he could hear enough to tell that the albino was talking to Alfred.

"So, uh, hey. If you two aren't together anymore...who are you going to the dance with?" Ivan slowed his pace so he could hear this part. He was a little curious, to tell the truth. He wouldn't be surprised if the blonde chickened out and didn't go at all. Stupid American."Oh. Heh, well, it's not like you could get a date anyway. You already rejected everyone else! By now they've all gotten other people to go with...Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that, kesesese...I bet thirty dollars you can't...Can't wait for my thirty dollars! Later!" Gilbert hung the phone back up on the wall and left.

Ivan now knew a few things. One-Alfred was probably going to be okay with his fallout with Arthur. Two-he was now dateless for the dance. Three-the idiot was probably going to try to get another one. And four-Alfred and Gilbert most likely just made a bet to see if Alfred would be successful in his new quest or not. Typical Alfred.

Ivan briefly wondered who Alfred would be taking, if he found anyone. But that thought was cut off as the next perios bell rang.

* * *

Yes! School was finally over, and Alfred could call away.

The first number on his paper was the first to be rapidly punched in. It rung three times before a young girls voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey..." Alfred looked back at his paper, "Tatyana! It's Alfred."

"Oh...um, hey Alfred. What do need?"

"Not much. Just a cute date for tha dance~. Would you be interested?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm already going with someone. Sorry!"

"Oh, uh, no problem! Hope you have a good time at the dance with your date!"

"Uh, thanks! Yeah, see you around!" she hung up after that without even saying goodbye. Alfred was used to it though. Most people didn't really know how to act around him. His good mood was not bothered, however, that was just one girl out of fifty or so that he had written down. You can't expect to get a yes on the first try, right?

Next one. "Hi, uh, Lacy? Yeah, this is Alfred...I was just wondering if a beautiful lady like yourself would be interested in going to the dance with me?...oh...okay, sorry to bother you. See you later, then!" Well that was a no-go, too. Alfred sighed and moved along.

"Hi! Yeah, it's Alfred! I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me?...no? Okay, bye."

"Hi, yeah, let's just cut to the chase. Would you like to go to the dance with me? Oh, you're a guy?...-no! I didn't mean anything, I just-...okay, I'm sorry...so do you want to go to the dance?...Hello? Oh, they hung up..." Alfred sighed and crossed another person off of the list. This might be harder than he thought. Everyone was taken, or was waiting to get an answer from someone they already asked. The first half of the front side of his paper was riddled with black lines.

He crumpled the paper up and threw it on his bed. He had had enough of this for right now. He'd try again later, maybe get some new contacts, and he _would _get a yes from someone. Really, it wasn't like everyone had found a date already in what, two, three days? He would find someone, and they would have the best fucking time anyone ever had! _Without Arthur._

* * *

_The Next Tuesday_

Turns out, everyone _did _already get a date. Either that, or he was asking the wrong people at the wrong time. Speaking of time, it was running out dangerously fast, and Alfred was starting to panic. What if he lost the bet? Not only would he loose thirty precious dollars, but his pride would be insulted. He'd be _that _guy who got cheated on, abandoned, and couldn't even get one person to say yes to him and would probably end up going alone, or not going at all, both of which were equally pathetic. Alfred being Alfred, pathetic just wasn't in his vocabulary, and he refused to fall prey to the word.

However much he regretted it though, he was becoming desperate. He couldn't pay attention in any of his classes because his mind was racing with the thought of falling that low. It was eating at him. He was almost certain he'd asked every single person in that school, even some he knew that would say no, and even asked Gilbert if going to dance with him would count, to which the stupid albino said no to. Jerk.

There were maybe five people that he knew he hadn't asked, all of them he wouldn't be caught dead with. Or at least, that's what he used to believe. Now that his pride was at stake, he was actually considering making a one time exception.

Uhg, he wished none of this had happened. It was all that stupid Brit's fault. What was wrong with Alfred? Was he not attractive enough? Well, Arthur was always telling him to lay off the burgers because he was already fat as it was, but he was sure he'd been joking around. Was he not romantic enough? He'd taken him on lots of dates, had shown his affection more than he thought was necessary, and was always looking for way to compliment the elder. Maybe he just wasn't taking things fast enough - no, that definitely wasn't it. Alfred_ had _asked Arthur about staying the night at one of their places, to which Arthur declined. Maybe he had been taking things too fast...

Alfred just couldn't figure out why Arthur had cheated on him.

And now because of Arthur, he was going to be humiliated. Alfred briefly wondered how far he would go to protect his pride.

* * *

I feel like I'm taking it too fast, but at the same time I feel like I'm milking it too much...I can never be happy with my pace, can I?

Review!


	5. Passing Notes

Gah! I'm sorry! I made you guys wait a whole week! Forgive me? Anyway, here's the new chapter! Enjoy.

* * *

Thank god Ivan wasn't going to the dance, it looked like _way _too much stress and nonsense than should be for such a stupid occasion. Since this nightmare was announced, all the Russian had been hearing was gossip and girls - along with a good amount of the boys, too - freaking out over what they should wear, how to do their make-up, blah blah blah...

He just couldn't see how this could be a pleasant experience. He already knew that he would be the only one who had no work to do during winter break, it was obvious that everyone else would put it off until the last few days before school started again. Although he didn't fully blame them; homework was a hassle that he could live without. However, it was work, and work needs to get done.

That's why he was the only one actually reading the book they were supposed to finish that week during English class instead of drawing on the desk or aiming spit balls at people from across the room.

One would think "Why doesn't the teacher didn't do anything about the inappropriate behavior?", but really, the teachers here didn't care. If you failed because you weren't using your time wisely, then that was your problem.

Ivan was almost at the end of the chapter, and he would be finished with the book by the end of the period. Or at least he thought he would be, until he felt something light hit his shoulder.

Looking behind him, he saw it was Toris who had tapped him. The smaller boy nervously shoved a folded piece of paper forward. Ivan took the paper with a questioning look. At first he thought it was from the Toris, but realized that if it was from the smaller boy, he probably would have just said it. Meaning it was from someone else in the room.

Ivan was surprised. No one really talked to him, and he had never gotten a note in class before. He briefly wondered who sent it before he unfolded it rapidly. He mentally gawked at the writing as he read it over several times - the second time to decipher the terrible hand writing, and the other times to make sure he wasn't going blind and misreading things.

On the ripped piece of note book paper it said:

_Do you want to go to the dance with me?_

Now Ivan really wanted to know who it was from. As far as he knew, everyone who wasn't terrified of him hated him. He turned back to Toris and asked who it was from.

Toris didn't say a word, and instead pointed to the student two seats behind him and three to right. The Russian stared for a moment before looking around the boy sitting there, seeing who the other was really pointing to.

As much as he tried to change his view, however, Toris was still pointing to that one individual: Alfred.

* * *

_5 Hours Earlier..._

That settled it, Alfred was desperate, and that was that. By now he didn't really care if he sounded as desperate as he felt, he just knew that he needed a date to the dance, pronto.

Problem was, he had tried everyone he could think of. He couldn't find anyone who he hadn't asked that could possibly be available. He needed a source to tell him who were his last options. So, who do you go to when you need spying to get done?

Kiku.

Alfred found Kiku ambling around aimlessly with Feliciano and Ludwig. Then again, where else would he be? Those three were, as Alfred said, homies. They just didn't leave each others side. Although Alfred had a feeling Kiku stayed with them just to avoid Im Yong Soo, his perverted Korean brother.

Alfred quickly bounded to Kiku, stumbling a bit and nearly running right into the small boy. "Yo, Kiku!"

"Ah, hello Alfred," Kiku moved away from Alfred, uncomfortable with how close they were, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah! Well, I assume Gilbert has told everyone about our little bet by now, right?" Kiku nodded. "Well, the thing is, I've run out of time, and I still don't have a date...so..."

"Alfred, I'm not going to the Halloween party with y-"

"That's not what I meant!" Alfred interrupted. He couldn't waste anymore time on this than he already had. "I need you to use your Asian ninja skills to find me everyone on this campus who isn't already going with someone. I don't care who they are, just tell me, kay?"

Kiku looked at Alfred skeptically for a moment, before nodding in agreement. It wouldn't be too hard to do.

"Awesome! So, give me your list by lunch, okay?" Before Kiku could protest that that only gave him a couple of hours to get it ready, Alfred ran off in the other direction. He sighed, sometimes not even he could tell what was going through that kid's mind, even when he spoke it so loudly.

The hours dragged by, too slowly for the American, but somehow that wonderful time of the day called lunch eventually rolled around yet again. Outside the cafeteria doors was where Alfred anxiously awaited his Japanese friend. As soon as a small head of neatly combed black hair appeared around the corner, Alfred seemingly teleported his way to Kiku.

"So do you have the list?" Kiku jumped at the voice that was suddenly in front of him. He calmed down in a few seconds and pulled out a perfectly folded piece of light blue paper and held it out to Alfred.

"Aw sweet! Thanks dude!" Alfred snatched the paper up and gave Kiku a quick bro-hug. Kiku squirmed under the uncalled for touch, and was released in a few seconds. "Sorry, dude. Forgot you didn't like hugs...or any contact really...anyway! Thanks again!"

Alfred grabbed his usual burger and sat down with the rest of his friends. Unfolding the nice paper, he looked over the names written neatly on the lines. There weren't many, but some of them he knew he hadn't asked already, which brought a new hope for retaining his precious pride.

_Elizabeta Héderváry_

_Lili Zwingili_

_Natalia Alovskaya_

_Matthew Williams_

_Peter Kirkland_

_Ivan Braginski_

Alfred took out a pen and immediately crossed out Matthew's name. There was no way he was going to take his own brother to a dance; it would not only be awkward, but it would also practically be putting out a big banner that said, "Hi! I'm too pathetic to get a real date, so say hi to my brother!" Like that was going to happen. Next he crossed Natalia off. He'd only met her once, but she scared the shit out of him, and there was no way he would relive that. Next he crossed out Lili. She was a nice girl and very cute, but she was just too young, and the little sister of Vash. If he took her, he would wake up to rapid gunfire at his house the next morning.

Then there was Peter. He crossed him out without looking at the name for more than a second. Peter was Arthur's cousin, there was no way he could take him. It would be too awkward and painful.

That left Elizabeta and...Ivan...

Huh, he could have sworn that Gilbert was going to take Elizabeta. It seemed like he had a crush on her. Of course, the feelings probably were never returned, she had always seemed interested in getting back with her ex-boyfriend, Roderich.

...

He couldn't really ask Ivan, could he? From the looks of it, Ivan had no intention in even _thinking _about the event, and besides that, they were enemies. Ivan would surely say no, just as Alfred was if the other asked him. So, that left Elizabeta. They had English next, which she happened to be in with him. He would ask her there.

* * *

The note was written, and Alfred passed it to the boy sitting next to him to deliver it. He hoped with all his might that he would get a yes. The minutes ticked by, and when nothing came back, he began to worry. But, just as he began to fret, a paper nudged against his fore arm.

He eagerly read it over, and his happiness was gone.

_I'm sorry! I've already made plans with family for that night. I'm not going. I hope things can still work out for you though!_

He sighed and stuffed the note into his binder. That was his last chance. He already felt his pride crumble underneath him, and he hadn't even told Gilbert yet. He didn't even care about losing thirty dollars anymore. He was the hero, and hero's were supposed to always get a girl. He just couldn't believe that he had fallen to something so pathetic. And it was all Arthur's fault.

But he couldn't be mad at Arthur. In his heart he knew that not being able to get a date wasn't the Brit's fault, he just needed someone to blame.

Alfred tucked into the clear pocket of the same binder was the list Kiku had made. He really as grateful his friend had gone through the trouble of making it, but it was of no use now.

One name however kept popping out of the blue paper.

_Ivan._

No. Alfred just couldn't bring himself to do it. There was no way he was asking that stupid commie bastard to something like the dance. Only friends and couples went to dances, and they were neither. In fact, they were the opposite!

But...

No! No "buts"! He wasn't asking Ivan and that was that!

...

Alfred quickly pulled out his last slip of note paper and scribbled in his message quickly. Before he could change his mind, he chucked the note at Toris, who was only a few seats away and directly behind Ivan. Toris looked up surprised at the sudden hit to the head.

Alfred pointed to the note, then to Ivan, getting the point across. Toris sighed, guessing it was probably some kind of hate mail.

The American watched as Toris tapped Ivan on the shoulder and handed him the note, watching his facial expressions. He saw his eyes go over the paper once, twice, three times, four times, and finally a fifth time before looking back at Toris. He looked shocked to say the least.

That was when Toris turned and pointed at Alfred. The blonde quickly turned forward and acted like nothing had happened, although secretly watching from the corner of his eye. Ivan looked even more confused.

Faster than with Elizabeta, the note came back to him. Judging by the time of the response, Alfred was sure it was a no. But when he looked back at the paper, it was not a capitalized "NO" written in bold sharpie like he had predicted.

Under his message was Ivan's response:

_Are you trying to pull a prank on me or something?_

Strangely, his stomach twisted a little - and not necessarily in a bad way - when he realized that Ivan hadn't given an outright no, at least not yet. He pushed the feeling aside and wrote back.

_I'm serious. Is it a yes or a no?_

This time the response was slower.

_Why do you ask? I doubt you're asking out of your own free will._

Alfred felt a little offended that Ivan suspected him of asking on a dare, but he was impressed that Ivan had picked up on a little bit so quickly.

_Okay, you got me. It's not for a dare, but for a bet._

_You bet on whether you could get me to go to the dance with you? Wow, you really are stupid._

_Shut up! I'm not stupid. And no, that's not what it was about._

_Then what was it about?_

_Ugh, I bet with Gilbert that I could get a new date before the end of this week. Everyone else has said no, and you were my last resort._

_Thanks, that makes me feel so appreciated._

_Will you just answer the damn question already?_

Minutes passed by, and no answer. Alfred waited and waited, and the bell marked the end of class, with still no reply.

He sighed and walked out the door. It was a no, he could already feel it.

Alfred jumped as he felt something be pushed into his hand, but when he turned around, no one was there. Looking at his hand, he saw the paper he had been passing back and forth with Ivan. He slowly unfolded and looked at what Ivan had said.

_I get to choose my own costume._

For the strangest reason that Alfred didn't know, instead of a groan or a scoff like he usually would give, a smile worked it's way to his lips.

He had a date.

* * *

And the romance has begun to form~!...Or not *shrugs*. The next chapters are going to be so much fun to write, because they're the ones that I first thought of for this story. Until next time!

Please review!


	6. Ending It

Here's a faster update than the last time. This is more of a filler chapter, but it is important. I also feel like it's kind of short, but I always feel like that. Enjoy!

* * *

Why, oh why did he say yes? Hadn't he just spent the last ten years of his life swearing he'd never go to a dance? Well, it was too late, he had said yes, and knowing Alfred, there was no way out of it now.

Ivan shook his head in disappointment at himself.

There was a soft knock at his door, followed by one a little louder. Only one person in his family knocked like that.

"Irunya*?" Ivan's older sister opened the door and came in, large chest bouncing slightly. He inwardly laughed; she really should do something about that. He was cheerful to see her though; she rarely came to visit anymore now that she had moved out of their parents' home.

"Ivan! It's so nice to see you again."

Irunya came and sat down on the blood red sheets of the bed next to Ivan, giving him a quick, but loving hug, which Ivan eagerly returned.

"Da, you haven't visited in a while."

"I'm so sorry! I've just gotten so caught up in taxes and work that I just don't have the time anymore. But I'm here now! So, tell me what you've been up to lately," Irunya folded her hands in her lap, looking up at Ivan expectantly.

Ivan sighed and looked down at his own lap. He was a little bit wary of telling his older sister about the dance. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea. He was relatively sure he was on the straight side, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't be going with Alfred because he liked him or anything like that.

He tugged at the loose fabric of his pants for a second before answering. "I, uh…the school's putting up a Halloween dance and the 31st…and I'm going with Alfred…" Irunya gasped from next to Ivan. Ivan didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't her squealing and hugging him with that death grip of hers.

"Oh, брат*, that's wonderful! You're going to have so much fun, I just know it. What are you going as?" She seemed so excited about this. Ivan was staggered by her attitude towards this. Then again, Irunya wasn't like other people. Maybe she really was okay with all of this.

"Uh...I don't really know yet. I haven't really thought about it..."

"Oh, maybe you two could do that whole matching thing where you both wear something that relates to the other!"

"No." Ivan deadpanned. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing something that made him and Alfred look like a couple. He was only taking Alfred because...

And this brought him back to why he had agreed in the first place. Maybe he just pitied the stupid brat and couldn't help but say yes. Yes, that had to be it. This was a pity date, just like everything else he had done for the American.

"Oh, hmm. Well, you'll figure something out. I should go find Natalia before she stabs someone for coming near the house or something like that..."

Ivan laughed and hugged his older sister again before she left. It really had been a long time since he'd seen her, and he had missed her. Although a few short visits were great every once and a while, sometimes Ivan found himself wishing she'd just leave for good or stay, then he wouldn't have to relive the pain of seeing her leave for years at a time again and again. He felt horrible for thinking like that, though, so he tried to enjoy the time he had with her as much as possible.

* * *

Alfred waited impatiently as the phone rang for the fourth time. If the bastard made him leave a message, he'd be sure to leave some choice words directed at him for making him wait.

Sure enough, it switched to voicemail. The second Alfred heard the beep, the words streamed out of his mouth like gunfire. "Gilbert, this is the fifth fucking time I've called you today! Answer for once, and maybe I won't stuff shit in your locker! Anyway, I just called to rub it in your face that I won! So take that! I'll be waiting for my thirty dollars tomorrow!"

After closing his cell phone and setting it on the corner of his desk, Alfred sat on the blue office chair and started a slow spin on it.

"So you got a date after all, eh?" Matthew asked from the bed. He was no longer reading the random magazine he had found on Alfred's floor - if it could even be called that anymore. What was the point of reading when you were just going to be forced into a conversation you didn't care that much about?

"Of course I did! The hero always does." Alfred held a fist above his head as he swiveled away from his brother before turning towards him again.

"Who is it? Hard to believe that there was still one free person willing to go by this time. After all, there's only about a week left until we're let out for winter break."

Alfred spun a little faster and in silence. He didn't want Matthew to laugh, but he had asked. "I'm uh...I was going to go with Ivan." It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"_Ivan_? Really? But...why? I thought you two hated each other?" Now Matthew was interested. His brother couldn't possibly be so stupid as to go with his enemy.

"We do hate each other. I was desperate. He was available. I don't know why he agreed to it, but he did. I guess I'll have to call him or something to work everything out...I guess it's about time I officially ended it with Arthur, too..." Alfred thought about it for a little while longer.

"...So is it going to be like a real date? Or are you just going to show up together, split up, then maybe leave together?" the purple eyed twin asked,"Because I don't think the second option counts."

The chair stopped spinning. He hadn't really thought about what they would do during the dance. It was a dance, so they were expected to dance, but Alfred wasn't going do that with Ivan. He refused to. Of course, there was also the "after party," where once the event is over, everyone goes to dinner at a student picked restaurant and has dinner with whoever they're with. What would they do then?

He didn't want to do anything that was considered romantic with Ivan, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He hated Ivan, and Ivan hated him. That was it.

That was what Alfred kept telling himself to ignore the memories that came and went. More than enemies-more than friends. He'd seen it happen so many times in the movies, when the intensity of hatred is so great, it turns into love.

But that was only in the movies. This was real life. He still hated Ivan, and Ivan still hated Alfred, and honestly, Alfred hoped it stayed like that.

Matthew smiled softly at his brother, who was obviously deep in thought. He got off the bed and kissed the top of Alfred's head goodnight. It was late, and they had one more day of school left before the weekend. He needed sleep.

"Goodnight, Al." Matthew closed the door behind him.

Alfred finally looked at the digital clock on his nightstand and gasped when he saw it was already 11:40. He needed to get to bed soon so he wouldn't be too dead the next day.

* * *

_Meet me the left side bench in frnt of the skool when u get there._

Alfred hit send and waited for Arthur's response. Sure enough, one minute later, his phone buzzed loudly, announcing the Brit's text.

_Why? Don't tell me you need answers for homework again. I already told you I won't give them to you._

_No, not 4 hmwk. I need 2 tk 2 u._

_You're texting me right now, aren't you? Whatever you need to say, say it now._

_No, I really have 2 tk 2 u F2F._

_You're lucky I've been texting long enough to know what that means. Fine, I'll see you at school._

_C u..._

Alfred shut the phone and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans. His bag was packed and ready to go, so he swung it over one shoulder and headed out the front door, shouting a quick, "Bye Mom!" into the house, not really caring if she heard.

He drove himself to school in a barren silence. He wasn't in the mood to turn on the radio, so the only sound heard was the soft purr of the engine underneath. In just over five minutes, he pulled into the high school's parking lot, almost forgetting about the speed bump right before the turn.

Alfred saw Arthur's eyebrows first, slightly scrunched in impatience. He parked is beloved car under some shade and walked over to the bench to greet him.

"There you are! I've been waiting for ten minutes now," Arthur scolded, but there was still the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that..." Alfred scratched the back of his head. He felt edgy around the other, knowing that they had both been with people without breaking the relationship. Woah, woah, woah. Wait, no. Alfred wasn't cheating on Arthur. He was just taking Ivan to the dance. That's right, it was still only Arthur that had been unfaithful.

"So, what was so important that you had to insist seeing me here to talk about it?" Arthur leaned against the bench, smiling fully now.

Alfred gulped. This was it. He had procrastinated on this long enough, it was time to end this thing. Even though he had considered them as over from the second he got home the night he caught Arthur, it still jabbed at his heart to end it for real.

"Um, listen, Arthur...I'm not really sure how to say this, because it's never happened to me before, so I'm just going to say it," Alfred paused, watching as Arthur's expression twisted into a confused one,"I...I know that you've been cheating on me with Francis." At that, Arthur's eyes grew wide and he took in a quick, short breath.

"...how did you find out?"

"I saw you two kissing in the hall about a week ago. Listen, I know a lot of people recover from being cheated on and shit, but I just don't want to be with someone that I can't trust. So is it okay if we just, like, end this thing?"

The Englishman gazed at him intensely before letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He almost sounded...relieved? What?

"I know I shouldn't feel relieved about this, but I've actually wanted to break up for a while now...I've always had a thing for Francis, even before we started going out, but I had always assumed it was requited. So I guess when he told me he liked me too...I only thought about myself and not how you would feel.

"Once I got over the initial rush of finally being with him, I realized what I had done. I guess that's when I decided to break up with you, but I kept pushing off, afraid I would upset you too much..."

"And you think me finding out about you two by catching you in the act was better than coming out and saying you weren't interested anymore? Iggy, I couldn't stop crying that night!" Alfred's anger began to boil in his veins like water; slow at first, but getting stronger and stronger.

"No! I never meant for you to find out like that! That was the last thing I had in mind. But you seemed so excited about the dance and everything else, I just couldn't being myself to ruin it all for you."

"Well guess what? You did anyway." Arthur looked down at his feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world. Neither of them could look at the other.

"I'm sorry, Al. I should have been more mature about this and told you the second my interest moved to someone else. That was stupid of me."

"..."

"Al, I'm sorry, okay! I still like you a lot, in fact, I love you! But, I love you in a brotherly way now. Does that make any sense?" Arthur pleaded.

Alfred lingered on that for a while. He did understand in a way. He himself had a brother of his own, so he knew what that felt like. It didn't mean he wasn't mad anymore, though. However, it had been a week, and the intense hatred and betrayal had dissolved to almost nothing. He had his mind on other things now.

"I understand," Alfred sighed.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I mean, we're still over, and I'm still mad, but I can forgive you. If you want to be with Francis, then it's not like I can stop you." Alfred chuckled for a second. Denying Francis of a love interest was as easy as hiding a week old tuna from a blood hound.

"O-okay...so what now?" "Well, now we have to get to class."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," Alfred didn't really know what to do now either. Did they just leave it at that? Were they still friends?

Oh well. He figured they could cross that bridge when they got to it. Right now he had more to deal with.

* * *

*Irunya- one of Himaruya's official human names for Ukraine. I know the official one is Katyusha, but when I heard Irunya, I liked it a lot better. So I'm using it.

*брат- brother, according to Google Translate.

Well, that's it until next time!

Review!


	7. A Beary Strange Feeling Indeed

First, I'd like to clear something up. For all of you commented on Ukraine's name being Katyusha and not Irunya, I'd like to point out that Irunya was her official name once. I liked it better, so I used it. I'm perfectly fine with changing it to Katyusha if you guys really want me to, but I'm keeping it the way it is for now.

And another note, I'd like to thank you guys so much for all of the reviews and favorites and alerts! It makes me so happy, you don't even know. So enough of that, on with the story!

PS. the title of this chapter is a lame pun on my part. Excuse my unoriginality.

* * *

Thank. God. It was Friday. Now that they were out of school, the weekend had finally started. That meant two days of pure freedom before everyone had to go back to that hell hole. Oh wait, they had no classes the upcoming week to make time for setting up decorations for the festival.

It was the annual Harvest Festival that was held every year the days leading up to the dance. The students weren't as excited about it as the dance, but it was always fun no matter what was going on. The whole campus would be decked out in autumn decorations with hay bails lining the pathways and pumpkins at every corner. There would be snow cone machines, caramel apple stands, and bake sales all set up by student volunteers.

This was Ivan's favorite part of the fall. There was just something about the smell of barley, sunflowers, and pumpkins that was intoxicating. He closed his eyes as he lay on his bed, imagining the few nice memories he'd had at WW Academy, all of which took place at the fest.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone buzzing on the bedside table, that annoying chirping sound announcing the new text. Why did he choose the tone again? He really needed to change it.

Ivan groaned loudly. He really felt like hitting whoever disturbed him over the head with a pipe right about now. Reaching beside him and groping blindly for the phone, he finally found the device and held it over his face, glaring at the screen.

His glare dropped and was replaced with confusion. It was from Alfred. It was only a simple, "Hi," but even through the screen of the phone Ivan could hear the American's annoying voice faltering with awkwardness.

He considered messing with the idiot for a while and pretend he had gotten the wrong number -which reminded him, how _did _Alfred get his number? - but he quickly abandoned the idea; it would get boring after a while, and Ivan really wasn't up to it right now.

He texted a quick, "Hello," back and set the phone on his chest. Within fifteen-seconds, the device was buzzing again.

_'So...wut r u gonna wear 4 the party?'_

Was he really asking about that? Of all the things to bother Ivan about, that was what he chose? Screw getting bored, Ivan was going to pester the brat for wasting his time.

_'I don't know. I assume you've already got your stripper costume all ready to go?'_

_'Wut? Where'd u get the idea was goin as a stripper?'_

_'I see you aren't denying it'_

_'I'm not going as a stripper! But ya, I gt my cstm rdy.'_

_'That's fantastic'_

The tension thicker than his winter coat from Russia. It was obvious this conversations was really going nowhere. When he got no reply back, Ivan sighed and chucked the phone to the side, slipping into peaceful daydreaming once more.

On the other side of town, Alfred was sitting at the dinner table, chin supported by the palm of his hand.

"Alfred, sweetie, is something wrong?" Alfred looked up to see his mom, who was drying off her hands with a dish towel.

"No...yes..." he sighed and crossed him arms on top of the table, resting his head between them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alfred's mom hung up the towel and sat down parallel from him.

Alfred thought about it. He didn't think it was so important that he needed to ask someone else, nevertheless his own mother, to help him with it. If she was willing to listen though, why not? "Well, Ivan is going to go to the dance with me, but we really, and I mean _really _don't like each other. Don't ask why I asked him in the first place, but could you tell me how to make the situation at least a little more bearable?"

"You two need to let go of that darn tension you have going on. Hang out together or something. Oh, isn't there going to be a harvest festival this upcoming week? Invite him to go with you or something. And while you're at it, take him shopping at the mall for you or something. Maybe you'll be on better terms after you've had some bonding time?"

"And how the heck is that going to happen? We've hated each others guts since, like, three years ago when we first met. I doubt that could change in a week."

There was almost a devious glint in his mother's eyes and she smiled knowingly, "You never know until you give it a shot, now will you? Set up an outing sometime this weekend of next week, maybe both. You might be surprised by how it turns out."

She let that hang in the air and got up to do the laundry. Alfred scoffed once she was gone. There wasn't going to be anything that could ease the hatred between him in Ivan, and even if there was, it wasn't going to happen in a week.

Still, even though his mom had said it like a suggestion, she was still telling him to contact Ivan sometime, and she would be put off if he didn't follow orders.

He pulled out his phone again, starting a new text with Ivan, not wanting to have the new one start off at the end of the last bitter one.

Now, how would he do this without making it totally awkward for them both? He supposed he could just apologize for earlier and at least act pleasant, but Alfred wasn't known for saying sorry to people. Besides, it wasn't even his fault! Whatever, it was just an act right?

_'Hey again. Sry about earlier...'_

_'Are you trying to be nice or something? Because if you are, it's not working. Just leave me alone.'_

Alfred huffed. It was bad enough that he had to put up with talking to this guy, he really didn't need any more trouble from him.

_'Well excuse me 4 tryin to not fight w/u 4 once. Anyway u wanna cm w/me 2 the mall 2moro?'_

There was a long pause before the reply, Alfred almost gave up on getting an answer.

_'You're joking, right?'_

_'No, Im not. Wuts up w/u and answering yes/no Q's?'_

_'Nothing. You just constantly surprise me with your idiotic ideas. So what would we do at the mall?'_

_'Find a cstm 4 u mayB get some more for me and grab lunch. Then myb next week we cd go 2 the skool festival. Thats about it.'_

_'Fine. We'll meet at the mall at 2.'_

Wait, did he just say yes? Alfred stayed there for a moment, trying to understand this seemingly bipolar person. One second he's saying that the offer is stupid, then the next he's accepting it! Who does that?

_'OK, 2 then.'_

_'What took you so long to reply?'_

_'Nothing. U just constantly surprise me w/ur idiotic answers.'_

Yes, he really just stole Ivan's line, what was Ivan going to do about it? Well, he wouldn't know what Ivan said about it anyway, since Alfred plugged his phone into the kitchen charger and walked away.

* * *

It was two o' clock, and Ivan was squirming impatiently for Alfred to finally arrive so they could get this over with. Ivan didn't know Alfred's real reasons for inviting him, and he still didn't know his own reasons for agreeing. He realized that had been happening a lot lately.

It was just something about that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach he got every time Alfred's name came up that told him to do whatever it was to see him. Honestly, it scared Ivan that a foreign emotion like this had that much control over him to make him do something like this.

It was that same feeling that kept him here at the front of the mall, waiting for Alfred. That idiot sure was taking his sweet time with getting there. It wasn't like it was warm outside either; it was autumn, so naturally it was chilly outside. Sure, it was nothing compared to the winters in Russia, but it still wasn't pleasant.

From not too far behind him, Ivan finally heard Alfred's obnoxious voice break the once calm air. "Ivan!"

Ivan turned around and rolled his eyes at what Alfred was wearing. "Alfred, cargo pants, a t-shirt, and that bomber jacket aren't going to keep you warm."

Alfred stopped and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, "Says you! I'm perfectly warm in what I'm wearing; the hero doesn't get cold because of a little winter storm!"

Ivan looked upwards. Sure enough, the sky had become overcast with different shades of grey layering the clouds above them. The smell of it was in the air, too. Ivan guessed that it would either rain or snow in the next hour.

"Let's just make this quick, da? I do not wish to deal with this storm when we're done."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go."

The two went into the mall without speaking to one another. They managed to waste a good ten minutes just walking around trying to find a store that looked promising. Thankfully, the aimless wondering ended when Alfred saw the Halloween store from the corner of his eye. There was sure to be something there worth looking at.

"Over there. I've been in that store before, they've got some good stuff," Alfred pointed the store out to Ivan before moving towards it, not looking to see if the other was following. He didn't need to, that creepy aura Ivan always wore was easy to feel.

Once in the store, Alfred didn't know what to do, though. "So, uh, what did you want to go as?"

Ivan shrugged,"I didn't think about it. Anything is okay I guess, as long as it doesn't demean me. What are you going as?"

"Oh, um," Alfred blushed just a little. He didn't know why he was getting embarrassed in front of Ivan, it wasn't like he cared about what the other thought,"I'm going to be a cowboy."

"Like from the old days in the West?"

"Yup..."

The only sound was of the other customers and the loud hum of people from outside in the mall.

"Well...I guess we can ask one of the people here for ideas..." Alfred shrugged. So far, this wasn't any easier than when they had started, and he was already doubting that it ever would get better.

He didn't stick around to find out. Alfred honed in on the first sales clerk he saw and immediately asked her what costumes they had. She smiled brightly and answered in a heavy Texan accent.

"Oh, well, the store is divided into categories, so we have video game characters over there, classics right next to it, cartoons over there, and animals are right over there," she pointed to the area to their right.

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem, hun!"

Alfred found Ivan again right where he had left him and dragged him to the classics section of the store.

"Well? Do you see anything?" Alfred asked.

Ivan looked at all the costumes on the wall, new levels of disgust and embarrassment coming with each one. All of the costumes for girls were highly provocative, like the police or maid uniforms. He averted his eyes and stared at the men's. They weren't any better.

Who would _want _to wear these..._things_? Ivan wondered to himself.

"Uhh...I'm not wearing any of this," he turned to the American who was also looking at the items on the wall, except he was cracking up over some of them.

Ivan rolled his eyes. Honestly, couldn't Alfred be at least a little mature?

"Obviously! Pfft, I can't imagine you wearing any of this, it'd just look too stupid!" Alfred continued laughing as the migrated to the next area, which was the cartoons. Ivan took one look at the Princess Peach dress and kept walking.

"Wha-? Oh come on, don't be such a party pooper!" Alfred shouted at Ivan before laughing some more and following. When he saw the Russian staring at the next wall, eye twitching, he was curious at what it was.

It was...a horse outfit. Alfred laughed even harder now, imagining them showing up, him as a cowboy, and Ivan as a giant horse was too much.

Then came those damn mental images of what that would imply. The laughs faded to awkward chuckles.

"Ah...I take it that it's a 'no' to that, huh?"

"You think?"

"..."

Well, this wasn't weird at all. Alfred rubbed that back of his head nervously.

That's when he saw it. The perfect costume for Ivan. He gasped and yanked it off the wall above and to the left of Ivan. He held it out for the other to see, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"No," Ivan dead panned.

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes~!"

"Why do you even want me to wear that?"

"Because you're from Russia, right? And Russia has a lot of these! Plus, it totally fits you!"

"That doesn't mean I have to dress up as a stupid _bear_."

"Please~? For me?" Alfred's face softened up into a puppy-dog pout.

Ivan didn't know what it was, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was, but that god damned feeling in his core came back and seemed to melt away the ice in his blood.

"...Fine..." he groaned. He didn't really want to do it, but he felt like he had to say yes.

"Yay!" Alfred exclaimed. He didn't know why he was so happy; he was at the mall with the one person he despised most.

And yet, he was starting to enjoy every minute of it.

* * *

Ah, love is in the air~. Anyway, if you haven't already noticed, I love conversations that aren't face to face. So yeah.

BTW, if you're wondering why Alfred's texting is so inconsistant, it's because that's how I text. For words that are better left the way they are, I leave them, where as if I can shorten it and still make it clear what I'm saying, I do. So that's just to clear that up a little, too.


	8. Hamburgers

**Edit: Okay, wow. I guess it didn't exactly upload when I told it to, so now I feel really bad for making you guys wait _another _day for this. Oh well, you can forgive me, right? **

**Finally! I'm back from vacation, and I'm still tired. I went over this chapter and scanned for errors the best I could, but my brains still kind of mush, so the editing is probably not best quality (then again, when has it ever not been?). So sorry for that suuuuper long wait, but here it is, and Black and Orange in rolling again!**

* * *

"I can't believe you convinced me to wear that…that thing," Ivan complained as the two walked out of the small shop.

It had been bad enough when they had to ask one of the clerks for assistance with getting it down, but at the check-out counter there had been a little girl, maybe six or seven, that had taken one look at the furry ears and started begging her mom for the same costume.

So he was wearing something that a little brat wanted? Great, just great. What was next, going to Build-a-Bear and making a princess poodle?

"Lighten up, will ya'?" Alfred punched Ivan lightly on the arm. "You only have to wear it for one night. Besides, unless you've got mad solo skills on the dance floor that you've been dying to show off, no one's going to see you, 'cause I'm not dancing with you."

"Isn't dancing with your date the point of going to a dance with someone in the first place?"

"So? I wouldn't dance with you for the world."

Alfred kept walking, oblivious to the small hitch in Ivan's step. Ivan hated to admit it, but that comment had put him off. He felt a little insulted that Alfred would thing he was unworthy of dancing with him-not that he would ever consider doing that-but he also felt a twinge of sadness somewhere in his chest.

Ivan shook it off quickly. He wasn't sad that Alfred wouldn't dance with him, he would never dance with Alfred either.

Next to him, Alfred's stomach growled loudly. "Welp, I guess it's time for lunch, haha."

Naturally, Ivan's want for real food was ignored, and Alfred made a beeline for the first McDonald's he saw.

"Alfred, McDonald's is not food-"

"You're right, it's isn't! It's God's food~!" Ivan resisted whacking the American on the back of the head. He knew Alfred would just keep whining if he did that, and that annoying voice was something Ivan could really do without at this moment.

Alfred ordered his typical two double cheese burgers with a large coke (diet of course) and a large order of fries. Ivan liked staying in shape, so he asked for a salad with no chicken and dressing on the side.

The food was brought to them quickly, and they soon found a small table in the food court to sit down and eat at.

There was an awkward silence that sat with them for the majority of the meal. Occasionally Alfred would try to start a conversation, because he hated awkward silences more than he hated talking to Ivan, but those usually ended as quickly as they started.

Alfred had finished his burgers long ago, and was still sucking on his soda even though he had finished that a while back, too. The loud slurping was beginning to annoy the Russian.

"Could you sip that any louder?" he asked in an irritated tone.

Alfred smirked, "I probably could," then sucked harder. To his delight, the slurping got louder. The fun came to an abrupt end when Ivan sent Alfred a dark glare. Did the air just drop a few degrees?

"Why do you eat this junk anyway? I can't stomach one of their chicken nuggets, let alone twenty burgers a day," Ivan asked. His mood sure changed fast.

"Well, obviously your commie-ness has screwed up your taste buds, because McDonald's is effing delicious."

"I've told you a hundred times, don't call me a commie. It's an insult to my country. Secondly, I believe you're the one with the dysfunctional taste. That stuff is worse than Arthur's cooking, and his sucks."

…

Weird, Ivan didn't think it was even possible for Alfred to be quiet for more than a few seconds at a time. Also, why was he staring at the table with a frown?

"It's not that bad…his fish and chips are really good," Alfred sounded strained, just a little. What was up with him?

Oh. Ivan realized he had struck a nerve with mentioning Alfred's –ex. He guessed the American still wasn't completely over the Brit.

"Sorry."

Alfred looked at Ivan, confused. "Um…for what?"

Ivan didn't really know what he was sorry for. It had just sort of slipped out of his mouth without him thinking about it. Well, he had already said it; he might as well try to put a reason behind it. "Well, I guess I probably shouldn't have mentioned him. You obviously haven't gotten over him even though it's been ages since you two actually broke up."

It was weird, usually Ivan would have taken triumph in making the blonde feel worse about himself, but now, seeing the not-quite-fixed pride in those bright blue eyes just made him feel bad.

That didn't mean he was going to be nice in his apology, though. A little sympathy wasn't going to overcome years of hate.

"Uh, thanks?" It was more of a question. Alfred really didn't get why Ivan was acting weird. It felt like the insult had been forced, thrown in there in the last second. Ivan noticed that too.

Once again, another awkward silence settled between the two.

Alfred sighed sharply and looked down at his wrist, as if there was actually a watch there.

"Well, would you look at the time. I, uh, guess I'll see you around…"

"Yeah…later, I guess."

After pushing in his chair, Alfred walked away. It felt wrong, leaving it like that. He felt that leaving like that was too abrupt, but what could he do about it now? He had already left, he wasn't going to go back now.

He was still slightly blushing from embarrassment. Spending time alone with Ivan and not trying to kill him was weird enough, he didn't need Ivan calling him out on his discomposure. That's why he left so spontaneously.

Now walking the other way, behind Alfred was a somewhat confused Ivan.

Had he just made things really weird? Probably, he was known for having that affect on things. He didn't see why the other had to leave so suddenly. Alfred looked like a child quickly walking away from an adult who just scolded them; embarrassed and wanting nothing more to just get out of there.

Ivan sighed. He hoped that their next meeting at the festival wasn't a repeat of today. It'd be a shame to ruin the one thing Ivan really enjoyed just because of tension between the two of them. He didn't know how that could be avoidable, though. The way things were going, the dance itself would be a living hell for both of them.

Then again, there was no force that was really making him go to the dance, it would be easy to just leave Alfred to deal with things himself.

No, that wasn't true, not really. It was Alfred himself that was keeping him from ditching. Abandoning Alfred after what he's been through seemed almost cruel-and not in the way that Ivan liked. Doing that would just be low of him.

Alfred was going through just as bad a time as Ivan was, and he hadn't backed out yet. Maybe if Ivan tried, he could still make it through this. He knew it wouldn't be the best experience of his life, but there was a small part of him that wanted to hope it would turn out okay.

You never know, right?

Of course, if this was going to work, he would have to fix Alfred's stubbornness towards being friendly for once. Like hell that was going to be easy. Alfred was as stubborn as a buffalo, and just as temperamental.

Whatever, he could cross that bridge when he got to it. Right now he just wanted to get home and hopefully not run into his younger sister during one of her...extra loving states. Honestly, she was a nice girl on the inside, but he could live without her constant declarations of love towards him and the random outbursts she had where she'd get so mad at him for not spending more time with her that she'd chase him into his closet with a kitchen knife.

Where she got her psychotics, he didn't know-or where any of them got it, because if you haven't noticed already, they were sort of a sanity challenged family.

The long walk and a bus ride back to his small home in the NE neighborhood was spent pondering different things, but it frustrated that no matter what he thought of, his thoughts always led back to Alfred.

* * *

Matthew could already tell his room was going to be turned into Alfred's personal therapy room by the time winter break started. It seemed Alfred's new favorite hobby was plopping down on the maple leaf covers on his bed and yank Matthew from whatever he was doing so he could rant about what was wrong in his life.

Although, the Canadian (he wasn't really Canadian, but when he was five he had declared to their parents that he loved Canada so much, he was from then on Canadian) had started to recognize the trends in Alfred's whining.

He was always blaming his problems on someone else, refusing to believe he was the one at fault, even if only partially.

When he had still been dating Arthur, all he would here was, "Arthur said this," and, "Arthur did that," or, "Arthur didn't do this," and, "Arthur lied about that." Nowadays "Arthur" had been replaced by Alfred's many colorful nicknames for Ivan.

Matthew didn't understand why Alfred hated the Russian so much. Sure he was constantly forgetting that Matthew was there, and even sat on him at one time, and was creepy at times, but he didn't really see anything really wrong with the guy.

"And then he said he was, 'Sorry'! Can you talk about weird? I don't get that dude sometimes. But it was so awkward, what was I supposed to do? He was being all creepy and stuff, so of course I'd be more than a little awkward..." Matthew let his twin drone on about random things about his day before he finally cut in.

"Al, do you need me to say anything about this? Because if not, I'd like to get back to my book now."

"Well, duh! Of course I need you here! You've listening this whole time, right? What should I do? I don't like being all awkward and uncomfortable around the guy, but I really don't like the idea of just being neutral with him or anything like that. I guess I'm just so used to trying so hard to hate him and be rude to him, that now that I can't really do that, I'm just sorta lost, ya' know?"

The elder twin sighed, shaking his head. Alfred should pick up talking to himself, because sometimes he swore Al talked the whole time and resolved things by himself without Matthew uttering one word during the whole rant.

"Well, I know it's going to be hard for you, but seriously, just give Ivan a chance. If you want this to not be unbearable for the both of you, you have to start treating him like a person. You're meeting with him again next week during the festival, right?"

Alfred nodded.

"Good. Use that as a chance to get used to treating each other with more respect that you're used to, okay? You're going to need all the practice you can get," Matthew mumbled the last part. His brother was hopeless sometimes.

However, Matthew knew that, "being normal" with Ivan wasn't the only thing that would make this troublesome for Alfred. Back to the talking nonstop about Ivan-even if it was in negative terms-he had a feeling his brother was starting to...more than 'accept' the idea of practically going on a date with Ivan, if you know what I mean.

That would be Alfred's job to deal with. If he didn't figure it our himself, he never would.

Of course, there was always the chance that Matthew was wrong, and Alfred didn't and never would think of the Russian in that way, but there were early hints, and if being friends with Francis for so long had taught him anything, it was to pick up on those tiny details that marked the start of feelings for someone else.

He was surprised, but also not in a way. This was Alfred, the same guy who, only days ago, had wanted nothing more than to hack into the military computer base and launch missiles at Ivan's head. This was a big change for such a short amount of time. Again, this was Alfred, the guy who was so random, nothing he did surprised him anymore. Matthew should have seen this coming a mile away.

"Okay...I guess I'll try," Alfred said before getting off the bed and leaving the room, finally leaving his twin some peace.

This was going to be an interesting week to put it nicely.

* * *

**Chapter...why you no be longer? I can never really et past 2,000- 3,000 words, can I? Ah, oh well. I guess that just means I'll have to update more often!**

**Review?**


	9. Leaves on the Ground

Ugg...so much dialogue! But hey! New chapter! Wooo...yeah...

* * *

"BIG BROTHER!"

Oh no…Ivan would know that terrifying screech anywhere. Now on guard, he whipped around to face the one thing that scared the crap out of him: his younger sister.

Natalia looked furious, eyes blazing with jealousy as she stood in the doorway to the living room. Ivan had long since realized that she would know exactly where he was and what he was doing no matter the circumstance, so knowing this, she probably already knew where he had been all day. She would ask anyway, just to hear Ivan say it. It was the same routine every time.

"H-hello, Natali-"

"Brother, where were you today? I looked all over, but you were nowhere to be found. Don't tell me you were away with someone else~…" her lips were pulled into a smile that might be sweet on anyone else's face, but along with the fire of jealously in her narrowed eyes, it just managed to scare Ivan more. She already knew, and even if she didn't she would find out, but the thought of confirming her suspicions and what the consequence would be kept Ivan quiet. "Well?"

"I-I was at the mall…shopping for Ha-Halloween…" Well, it wasn't a lie. He had been at the mall, and shopping for Halloween. He just omitted the part about being with Alfred the whole time. He didn't like that part, and Natalia would go out and possible torture/kill Alfred. He didn't need someone's demised on his hands.

Natalia gave him a once-over. She knew he wasn't telling her everything, that was clear. The question was whether or not she would press him further and squeeze the truth out of him.

She didn't though; she huffed and stormed out of the room, muttering something about, "loyalty to your future wife," or something like that. Thank goodness, she was gone now.

Ivan briefly wondered if Irunya was still here. Probably not; she only stayed for a day or so every time she visited.

Too bad Natalia wasn't the one who disappeared and then came for a day at a time at random.

Ivan sighed and turned on the T.V. since there was nothing better to do. Right now he just wanted to forget about today and drown himself in whatever was on right now … which just happened to be Dr. Phil. Today's episode: mending hatred between Rocky and Joe, two teenage boys who have been enemies for years. Great. It was at the end, too, which meant that there would probably be some hugging and other stupid things that made Ivan want to gag.

Well, television wasn't helping at all. Maybe a magazine would help.

He picked up the newest issue of People lying on the coffee table. He flipped to a random page and started reading the article.

"How to make your school's next the dance a party to remember" was the name of the article. Great.

Ivan chucked the magazine away from him, frustrated. Did the universe want him to suffer through this? All he wanted was to not think about the dance, or Alfred, or anything like that. Was that too much to ask?

Music. That always did the trick, right? He went straight up to his room and spent some time rummaging through drawers and shelves before finally finding his black iPod Classic (he liked bigger electronics, okay? Classics are just as cool as that puny little Nano) and headphones to match.

With a small mental victory cheer, Ivan pressed the center button.

...

Why wasn't anything happening? He pressed it again, holding his finger down for a little longer this time.

...

Nothing. Well, crap. It would take too long to wait for it to charge, but what else was there to do?

Oh fuck, it. He needed food. Ivan returned to the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out a green apple. Reaching above the refrigerator, he felt around until he found the large jar of peanut butter he kept hidden for himself.

Yes, it was his dirty little secret that he was terribly addicted to apple's with peanut butter. How addicted, you ask? Burgers were a once-in-a-while treat for Alfred compared to how many Ivan would eat in a day. He was very good at hiding it, but there was one time Natalia had taken the trash out for once one week and found about twenty empty bags that were supposed to hold fifteen apples each. That was a strange conversation that Ivan wished he could forget.

What could he say, though? Even he needed a food related way to stay sane. The America ways had grown on him in the short amount of time he'd lived here.

Ivan wasted no time in cutting the apple in half and plunging one half into the jar greedily, getting as much of the savory cream on the sour fruit as he could, before biting into it, not bothering with the seeds. How much hard could a few seeds really do?

Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have asked that, because now he would most likely get poisoned by organic toxins in the seeds that can't be broken down in the human body and he'd be bed ridden for days, and wouldn't be able to go to the damn dance with Alfred.

...

Ivan took another bite, getting as many seeds into one bite as possible. He knew that chances of actually getting sick enough for that to happen from a few seeds were closer to a negative percentage. Damn.

At least there was still a week before he would be forced to face the newest bane of his existence. Though, naturally, a majority of the savior week would still be spent with Alfred. Haha, Ivan and Alfred, spending time together that wasn't spent trying to mentally and physically degrade the other, and worse, dancing together!

Looks like the Mayans were wrong; the end of the world was going to come a little earlier than expected.

Yeah, this whole, "Let's not think about Alfred and my imminent doom," thing wasn't really working out.

The apple was juicy and crunchy...and now gone, only the stem was left, which Ivan was currently chewing on between his teeth like you would long blade of grass. He was so bored now, but it was only about six at night, and with a few hours of the day to waste with nothing to waste it on, he had no clue how to cure this impediment in his day.

How had time flown by so quickly before? They had gone in at two, and come out at five. Ivan was sure they weren't there for more than an hour. He wished that speed would start again right about now.

He wasn't exaggerating when he swore the clock was going backward every time he looked at it.

Ivan was almost desperate enough to wish Alfred was there to at least give him something to do beside staring at the wall in front of him. Almost.

Well, there was nothing wrong with going to bed early (early was an understatement), he guessed. Maybe he could blackmail Natalia into making breakfast for him tomorrow morning.

Maybe, he could even humor her for the day and hang out with her; it would definitely keep his mind off of He Who Shall Not be Named - and no, not the He Who Shall Not be Named, his He Who Shall Not be Named.

The thought of being closer than a few...hundred meters away from his younger sister made Ivan shiver involuntarily. That was one thing he wasn't enthusiastic to do, but he supposed, if only a little, that it was still better than having all of this tattooed in his mind.

Ivan threw the mangled stem into the trash bin before leaving the kitchen to shuffle up the stairs to Natalia's room.

He paused in front of her door until he realized he was being ridiculous for fearing his sister. There was nothing to fear if he didn't give her a reason to scare him. He could talk to her alone without anyone there to protect him from whatever she might have in store, no problem.

Ivan whined to himself before knocking gently on the wooden door. A muffled, "Come in," was heard from behind the door. He took his sweet time doing just that, but it seemed like he blinked and he was standing before his sister with a shut door behind him.

"Brother? What are you doing here?" she looked suspicious, but he could see that on the inside she was holding back the urge to pounce on him.

"Um...I-I was just wondering if-if you would maybe like to, uh, spend the day tomorrow to-together...?" Ivan cursed his shaky voice. Come on, he was a man! There was nothing to be afraid of.

Natalia gawked at him for a beat before sucking in a lot more air than needed, getting ready to explode.

"YES! I-I mean...yes! It's about time you came to your senses and saw that it is our destiny to be together!" Ivan cringed at that. Of course, that's how she would intemperate it. "Oh, this will be so much fun. What do you want to do? We can do anything you want to, love~" she cooed eerily.

This was why he had avoided her for the majority of his life before: she was far too enamored with him than should be normal, even if they weren't siblings. He felt that at any time she could snap and finally cross that thread-thing line between having obsession issues and being a full out stalked.

At least she was making this easier for him than he expected. He got to chose what they did instead of her making him play pet as she did with him as she pleased.

"Well, I was thinking that we haven't gone to the park across from that Italian restaurant in a long time...maybe we could go there?" It was true, they had spent much of their childhood - Ivan, Natalia, and Irunya - at that park, and a visit sounded really nice.

"Great idea, brother! I can make breakfast for you, and lunch, and dinner, and we'll eat together like a happy couple, yes?" and there was that stalker personality once again. He was tense from the look she was giving him. No matter how many years he lived with this girl, that ominous aura always managed to get him close to crying on the inside - sometimes on the outside, too.

He only offered a nod in reply before making his way out the door, not forgetting to say a quick goodnight.

Glad that his nerves could finally calm down, he scurried to his own room and proceeding to lock the door behind him - just in case. Before you comment or ask questions, yes, locking yourself in your room to run away from your younger sister was plenty manly.

It was still too bright in the room to even think of sleeping, though. With a small 'Fwip' , Ivan shut the blinds, flooding the room in a dark shadow. It wasn't too hard to pretend it was night after that.

He flopped down on his bed, covering his head with his pillow. He wasn't tired, but eventually he was able to calm his mind down enough for sleep to pull him under.

* * *

Why did the earth have to spin and bring morning with it? Well, it was obviously because the universe hated him and wanted to keep putting him through the hell called waking up.

Alfred groaned and rolled over. Oops, guess there wasn't any more bed on that side.

"Oof!" Alfred hit the wooden floor hard his shoulder popping from the impact. Although, the pop felt kind of good, the rest of his body was still sore from such a big jostle so early in the morning.

Well, it might not be early - it might not even be morning - but Alfred was still too out of it to get up.

"Alfred?" a soft voice came from the doorway behind Alfred. He looked over his shoulder to see who it was.

There was Matthew, looking down at him, very confused and a little worried. "I heard a loud crash, I wanted to make sure you hadn't broken anything."

"Nah, I only fell of the bed, I couldn't break a bone from that."

Matthew deadpanned, "I was talking about the furniture."

"You make me feel so loved, Matty," he grumbled sarcastically. Leave it to Matty to be more worries about a replaceable lamp than his own brother.

Matthew smiled and left the room, seeing as there was nothing to be worried about.

Well, now Alfred was up, what now? He didn't have anything to do today. There parents were already at work (he thought it was stupid people still had to work on uUndays). He needed to go to the bookstore to get more comics; he had read every one in his bookshelf three times over by now, and was in desperate need for new material. Today though, he just didn't feel like driving all the way across town.

He could always just watch T.V., but all the good cartoons were probably over, since the analog lock on his bedside read eleven AM. He could always go for some food, but that would only occupy him for so long.

What was there to do on Sundays that wasn't more boring than doing nothing?

Matthew. That's it, he would get Matthew to do something with him!

Alfred picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off, then ran out of his room straight to the kitchen where he could smell his brothers pancakes. His mouth watered at the aroma; Matty's pancakes were always to die for, since he made them from scratch. These pancakes were the only reason their family went along with Matthew being "Canadian", because apparently Canadians made pancakes like the Japanese makes video games.

Which reminded Alfred, he would have to hook up with Kiku (no you perverts, not THAT kind of hook up!) to try out the others new games and totally beat him at them (well Kiku usually won, but Alfred always declared that his efforts were better).

Sure enough, there was the lighter blonde at the stove, finished up moving the pancakes from the pan to a large plate.

"Yuuuum~! I hope you weren't planning on eating many of these, because these look delicious!" Alfred sat at the table, eager for his breakfast to be set in front of him.

"You assume I made these for you," Matthew said as he sat down as well, but kept the plate on his side instead.

Alfred gaped at the other, an expression of horror and hurt across his face. "B-but...Matty~" he whined, "It's almost twelve and I'm starving!"

"Exactly! I have to wait four hours to eat because you always sleep in too late, so this is your punishment."

"Why do you wait for me to make breakfast? It's not like the police are going to bust down the door and arrest you because you ate without me."

"I'd prefer it to what happened last time, remember?" Alfred thought for a moment before looking down sheepishly.

"How was I supposed to know it was actually a strip club?" The last time Matthew had eaten all the food before Alfred woke up, that night he had made Matthew drive them downtown to buy him dinner at the new restaurant there. Unfortunately, it turned out that the "restaurant" was actually a strip club and bar, that had food as a side service.

Though Alfred had to say, his brothers face was priceless when a young girl in her twenties or so came up to them in a leather outfit that covered less than a bikini and asked them if she could help them like there weren't naked people dancing on a stage behind her.

Alfred had to hold onto his arm to keep him from bolting out the door.

"Well, for one, you could have read up on the place before even thinking of going there, and two, didn't you think that it was odd that there were neon signs and loud...sound blasting through the speakers?"

"Sound?"

"That was not music that was playing."

"Whatever. Anyway, I can't control how late I wake up!"

"Then go to bed before midnight sometime, will you?"

Alfred sighed. "Matty, I do. I go to sleep at like, nine. I just happen to be able to sleep for fourteen hours!"

"Alfred, that's not sleeping, that's called a coma." They both laughed for a little bit after that.

"Ah...so are you seriously not going to share your pancakes with me?" Alfred asked. Matthew rolled his eyes and shoved the plate to Alfred after taking one for himself; he didn't trust Alfred to leave anything for him.

After that chatted idly as they ate their food, Matthew having gotten a spare plate for himself, and Alfred using his hands to hold the pancakes as he bit into like an animal.

"Oh yeah, since I don't have anything to do today, is there anything you'd like to do? I can drive us wherever you want."

Matthew thought on it for a while, then shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't have anything planned either."

"Hmmm..." they both sat there thinking about what they could do to make this day less uneventful.

Then Matthew got it. "Oh! You know where we haven't been in forever?"

"Where?" Alfred asked eagerly.

"That park in uptown, just across from Feliciano's grandpa's diner."

"Oh, you mean that wimpy kid who's always clinging to that hotheaded German dude?"

"His name is Ludwig, Alfred, and yes. That one," Matthew said as he finished off the last bit of his brunch. It was almost time for normal people to be having lunch, and here they were finishing their first meal of the day. How sad.

"I know what his name is! Aren't we a little old to be going to the park?"

Matthew gasped dramatically and held his hand to his heart. "Alfred! How could you possibly say that? That's like saying we're too old to go trick-or-treating, which I know you will."

"What? How do you know that? Ah, whatever. Anyway, let's go as soon as we get all of this cleaned up."

Twenty minutes later found the two brothers walking side by side on the cracked sidewalk surrounding the park. It was a nice day out, with a few clouds in the sky to partially block out the sun, and warm colored leaves littering the ground around the trunks of the trees lining the sidewalk.

It was quiet...well, as quite as Alfred could be when no one was trying to shut him up, which wasn't actually much. Alfred filled the silence with random blabbing, occasionally pointing out things he found interesting or asking questions that he rarely gave time to be answered.

Finally after almost an hour of walking in circles, Matthew decided it was time for them to sit down before his feet went numb.

"I have no idea how you're able to talk nonstop for that long without losing your voice for the rest of the day, honestly," Matthew shook his head while maneuvering his legs so that his feet were propped up on the top of the table's seat so there was less strain them.

"It comes from practice~" Alfred hummed as he leaned back so he was laying on the top of the picnic table. He knew there would be splinters in his back by the time they went home again.

"I don't doubt that..." they fell into silence after that, enjoying the warmth of the autumn sun, accompanied by a light breeze. It really was a great day, and this was helping to keep Alfred's mind off of things he didn't want to think about.

Alfred watched the upside down children and couples that were also enjoying the day.

...

Hey, that girl kind of looked like that insane girl, Natalia.

Wait, scratch that. It was Natalia. What was Ivan's sister doing here? Shouldn't she be pressuring Ivan into marrying her or something? Unless...

Alfred's eyes widened and he shot up, flipping around to poke his brother's shoulder quickly.

"What, Alfred? I was relax-"

"Dude! It's Ivan and Natalia!"

"What?"

"Look!"

Sure enough, Natalia was indeed clinging to her older brother's arm in a death grip, glaring at passer-byes who even looked at Ivan.

"...Cool. Wonder what they're doing here." Matthew shrugged and relaxed again, until Alfred grabbed his shoulders.

"No, not cool! I came here with you to get my mind off of him, not to see him again! Come on, we're going home," Alfred declared, tugging on the other's arm harshly.

Matthew's protests weren't payed any mind as he was dragged to the car that had brought them here.

"Alfred, come on. You're being way over-dramatic! Stop running away from Ivan, already!" Finally, Matthew was able to break free of Alfred's grasp, rubbing at the now sore spot on his wrist.

He was really starting to get tired of Alfred's attitude towards Ivan. If he had been running away from Natalia, that he could understand, but deliberately fleeing the area just because he didn't particularly like the Russian was just pushing it. In his opinion, he thought someone should just throw them into a closet together and lock the door from the outside. Maybe then they could grow up (they meaning Alfred) and be forced to deal with each other's presence without anyway to escape.

Oh, that was a good idea. Maybe Matthew good do that later.

However, it would have to be later, because Alfred had taken his wrist again and continued with nudging him into the car, before going around and getting in from the other side. Then they sat there, Alfred fiddling with his jacket sleeve while he waited for Matthew to start the car.

He kept waiting, yet nothing was happening.

"Matty, come on. Start the car, let's go home."

Matthew groaned, "Al, we've only been here and hour or so. If we go home now, you're just going to get bored again and complain about it. If you absolutely can't stay be here any longer, then let's go somewhere else. How about lunch?"

They had just ate, and Matthew wasn't hungry, but he knew Alfred was always up for food.

"Okay! Where should we eat?" Alfred had perked up at the mention of food.

"I don't know. I'm not hungry, so it's your choice."

"Dude, I've chosen where to got the last bazillion times, though!"

"You've never complained about it before, but okay. Well, why don't we go to Feliciano's place? It's right there."

"Sounds good! Let's go."They got out of the car again, and started to cross the street to the Italian restaurant.

Out of the corner of Alfred's eye, he could have sworn he saw Ivan looking back at him from the middle of the park.

* * *

Holy. Roman. Empire. Can you believe it? This has not 2,000, not 3,000, but 4,000 effing words! I'm so proud of myself. Of course, the delay sort of makes it less awesome, but I can assure you I spent all that time writing this.

It was hard, because about four times during this chapter I got major writer's block, but I was able to push through it by listening to random music and eating apple's with peanut butter. Yes, that part came from when I had writer's block, and I was frustrated so I made myself God's snack, and I guess it influenced my writing...oops. Whatever!

And sorry for stupid grammatical and spelling errors that I can never seem to find until you guys point them out to me. English is my second language, okay? Cut me some slack!

So anyway, next chapter we'll get a lot of Feli and Lovi, and of course some Ludwig and Prussia. It's brother's day out! XD

Well, I'll stop my rambling here. Until next time!


	10. Failing at Forgetting

There's a cricket under my bed right now, and I can't get it out of there no matter what I try. I'm so freaking tired from getting two or so hours of sleep a night from the damn thing.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope I haven't been losing too many of you guys...

* * *

Alfred had heard of it plenty from around town, but he'd never been to this restaurant, "Alimento Veleno." Generally, he tried to stay away from restaurants with names that he either couldn't pronounce or didn't know the meaning of - so far it'd been working out for him. Mattie wanted to eat here, though, and he was up for really anything right then. The food had to be decent; Feliciano, who the younger of the two Italian boys at their school, was one of the waiters and part time chefs, and his grandfather, who probably had pasta sauce contaminating his blood, was the owner of the small diner.

"Damn, this place is packed. This must be a good day for Italian food," Alfred mused to no one in particular. There were young couples, families, and friend littering the place, with extra chairs pulled up to accommodate everyone. Alfred briefly worried that there would be a wait for an empty table, but a young boy who looked around their age with dark brown hair and a peculiar hair curl ambled up to them with a scowl.

"Ciao, and welcome to Alimento Veleno. How many?" he spoke irritably, and in a thick Italian accent. This must be on of the Vargas twins - presumably the older one, since Alfred remembered the other being happy and a little ditzy.

"Um, just two," his brother answered softly. The waiter nodded curtly before leading them through the cramped dining area to the first empty table he saw, setting down two menus. Alfred and Matthew sat down, Matthew deciding it was best not to irritate the man any further, but Alfred not sensing that it wouldn't be a good idea to mess with him.

"Can I get anything to start you off?" he asked.

"No, but you seem really tense. What happened, girlfriend dumped your or something?" Alfred asked jokingly.

Matthew lightly hit his side. "Al! That's personal. Just let him do his job, okay?"

They looked back at the disgruntled Italian, who's eyes shone in more malice than before. Without staying to see if Matthew wanted anything, he huffed and stormed away to who-knows-where.

Alfred twiddled his thumbs around the edges of the table cloth, pouting to himself. He just wanted to have some fun, and you had to admit, there was no question that seeing the kid flustered was as entertaining as seeing a couple fight over a cereal brand at the grocery store. Oh? That was only entertaining for Alfred? Oh well, you get the point.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," the soft but chiding voice broke through the silence. From the tone in Matt's voice, it was easy to tell he was used to his brother saying stupid things at the wrong times. Sometimes it was on purpose, but mostly it was just from lack of the ability to pay attention to detail and comprehend what was going on around him. After so long of dealing with this, the little scolds didn't hold much threat.

Alfred shrugged it off and flipped open the menu and started reading over its contents. They spent ten minutes alone just trying to teach Alfred what each dish was, then another for Alfred to decide what he wanted while Matthew sipped on his lemon water which was brought to them somewhere in between.

They ordered their food finally, and when it arrived a while after, Alfred dug into his like Henry VIII after a chicken wing.

"Ludi!" a very happy, and very loud shout almost topped the volume of the loud hum throughout the restaurant. Alfred paused - halfway through fitting as much pasta into his mouth as possible - to see what was going on.

Behind him at the front door a man with slicked back, blonde hair was groaning (well Alfred assumed by his posture, he couldn't really hear him through the buzz), as what had to be their cranky waiter's younger brother, Feliciano, latched himself onto his arm.

Alfred scoffed. It wasn't a secret that those two were totally in love, not since years ago when they first met, but Alfred was still surprised that a guy like Ludwig hadn't strangled a guy like Feli by now - he knew he would have. The kid was so pathetic, it wasn't even worth joking about. He cried easily, and if there was ever an argument that involved him, he would be out of the room faster than that time Matthew was five and heard there was an ice cream truck outside selling maple syrup flavored sandwiches. Alfred had blinked and the other blonde was gone, and he didn't blink slowly.

Matthew was always trying to tell him to be nicer to the Italian, because he was a, "really nice person to be around," or whatever. Then again, Matthew thought well of everyone, save for a few people here and there.

Alfred could here Feli bursting about being happy Ludwig had come to his families restaurant and other things, but he didn't care to listen anymore. The whole lovey-dovey air was rubbing him the wrong way. That had been happening a lot lately.

Matthew sensed Alfred's discomfort at the loud couple (Feli spoke enough for both of them), and decided it was time to bring up something else.

"So, I decided to dress up this year, too," he sounded like he could be talking about the weather that day by his casual tone.

"Really? I thought you said you didn't want to...Wait, please tell me you aren't going to go as a polar bear," Alfred stared at his brother worriedly.

"What? Why?"

"Because! Commie bastard is, too. Well, I kind of forced him to, but that's beside the point."

For some reason, the thought made Matthew nearly choke on his food in laughter. The mental picture of Ivan in a polar bear costume was too ridiculous to not laugh.

"You're seriously making him do that? Wow, Al..." Matthew drank some more of his water, shaking his head at his brothers antics. It didn't surprise him much.

"Yeah..." Alfred mentally wanted to flop down on a bed and scream into a pillow or something; the whole point of today was to forget about this whole damn thing, but here they were, talking about it again. "Hey, can we not talk about that? This day was sort of dedicated to shoving him out of my life for at least a little while."

Matthew frowned. "Why?"

"Why? Mattie, you just don't get how weird everything is for me right now, do you? It hasn't even been a month since I found out Arthur was cheating on me with Francis of all people, a couple weeks since I broke up with him, and now I'm stuck with going to the same dance where I was going to have the best night ever with Arthur, but now instead of going with my now ex-boyfriend, I'm going with the guy I've sent enough death threats to in the last three years you could read one everyday for the rest of your lifetime. I used to hate the commie bastard, okay? I need a break," Alfred huffed and stuffed more food into his mouth than necessary.

Matthew smiled sympathetically as his brother, but a thought came to him and his gaze turned more curious. "You just said you _used _to hate him...Do you not hate him anymore?" He prayed that Alfred would say yes; he was beyond ready for a change in the subject of complaints that were dumped on him on a regular basis.

"What? Of course I still hate him - I mean, well, sort of maybe not as much as before but - you see, not really I guess, but - it's really complicated, okay!" Alfred stumbled, looking for a right answer. Maybe he didn't really despise Ivan as much nowadays, but he sure as hell didn't like him or anything.

Did he even hate the Russian at all anymore? Surely just a little...

Alfred thought back to their time at the mall. He had been laughing so hard when they were in that shop, and it was fun to drag the older around and then take him to lunch. It wasn't normal to have that much with your enemies. Albeit, it did get super awkward there at the end and at other points during the meet up, but it wasn't a bad time.

Alfred hated admitting it to himself, and wouldn't dare tell anyone else, but he found himself getting excited every time he thought about the festival next week and what they would do this time.

That never came out from Alfred's deep inner conscious though, and he assumed it never would.

He was grateful that Matthew had decided to leave the topic alone, and the food was devoured quickly. The older Vargas brother brought them the check, and after paying and leaving a five dollar tip, the two blondes left the still excessively packed restaurant and agreed to go home.

They were somewhat successful in forgetting about everything and just enjoying the day, and all too quickly the night fell over the city, and it was time to get ready for the next day.

* * *

One of the shorter chapters, I know. But that's all I want to type for this chapter. I'm going to try to get some more sleep, so goodnight!


	11. Allergies

I just found out about this a few days ago, and it had not done anything to renew my faith in America. Did you know that 68% of Americans don't know that New Mexico is a state? How stupid is that? It's not that hard to believe though, because whenever I tell someone I'm from NM, they usually reply with, "Oh, so you're from out of the country?" The worst is when they say, "Wow, your English sounds really great!" I'm just like, "Yeah, and it'll sound even better when my fist high fives you face." Really people, how hard is it to recognize us as one of your own? We're like the Canada of the states.

Anyway, sorry about that rant! Here's the next chapter! I think you guys will be happy (maybe) by the end.

* * *

Dead leaves crunched loudly under the feet of teenagers, running freely down the "road" that ran through the school campus. Really it was just a large dirt path that occasionally broke off into smaller roads. Lining the path were stands of every kind; snack bars, caramel apples carts, traditional games like bobbing for apples, and good old arts and crafts benches were set up for everyone's entertainment.

Alfred laughed to himself when a few girls ran by screaming as two boys chased them with a giant worm slung over a twig. They looked like they were only freshman, right out of middle school. Poor worm, Alfred thought to himself.

"What's so funny?" Ivan was perched on top of the small picnic table, not doing much besides relaxing into the calm autumn weather. This question was close to the only thing uttered between the two of them since they had met up again.

As usual, Ivan had been one of the first students to arrive at the festival, and after walking around aimlessly for almost half an hour, he finally laid down on top of the table and settled down. He would have fallen asleep, too, if it wasn't for a pesky American plopping down on the bench next to him, making a snide comment about Ivan's choice of beds. Neither of them had made a move to do anything after that, and continued to sit there in silence.

It seemed that silence was broken now, however. "Nothing, there's just some kids being stupid."

"Sounds a bit like you, да?"

"Dude, shut up," Alfred lightly smacked Ivan's shoulder, rolling his eyes. It was different, though. Ivan could tell it was more playful than hurtful. Strange.

Ivan smiled slightly and bent back, sighing in satisfaction when his back popped loudly. He was just about fed up with this apathetic atmosphere by now. Ivan shuddered, thinking back to a few days ago when he had cracked under his boredom and invited Natalia to the park with him. When he had seen Alfred there with Matthew, some hope that he could use them as an escape route had sparked, but was sadly snuffed out when Alfred blatantly ignored him. That day was one he did not want to repeat.

Alfred was here now, and couldn't just ignore him, so this was Ivan's chance to do something fun. All he needed was to find something fun that they both could enjoy.

He was going to spend his whole day looking for that one thing, wasn't he?

"We're here, we might as well do something," Ivan suggested with a sigh.

"Well, commie, what did you have in mind? It's not like there's much to do around here. It's the same as all the years before."

"That's not true; they add lots of different things all the time."

"What, like a new snow-cone stand, or that new karaoke machine that only has, like, ten songs on it? That's not exciting, though! If we're going to be stuck together for the day, I want to do something that makes it worthwhile."

Ivan thought for a moment. Alfred liked food, didn't he? He supposed they could start with that. "Well, assuming you're up for food – which I know you are – let's get something to eat, then we'll go from there."

Alfred's eyes lit up at the mention of food. He wouldn't admit it, but that was one of the reasons he was glad the festival was the same every year; the food was so delicious.

"Yeah, sure. I think there's a small café down that way that has some good teriyaki chicken. It's like a small Chinese place – I think Yao's parents are the ones running it – can't miss it."

Alfred led the way as they pushed through the large mobs of teenagers that were littering the road, and was somehow able to find the food court. Ivan was convinced Alfred had just followed the smell of fried food that would make you gain five pounds just looking at it; Ivan wouldn't have found it if he had spent hours looking for it.

"I think I'm going to get the teriyaki chicken – maybe I'll add the side of rice. How 'bout you?"

"I can't believe they can call any of this Chinese food. I pray that you know this isn't like anything they really have in China, right Alfred?"

"Whatever, it tastes good! Now pick something; it's our turn to order."

Ivan settled for the fried rice, and they were handed a number for their order.

Their food was ready faster than it should have been, and they found some chairs to sit down in to eat. Ivan thought the rice was decent; the large peanut crumbs really added flavor and texture. He turned to ask Alfred if he liked it too, but didn't bother. He doubted he'd get a comprehendible answer with so much food stuffed into the Americans mouth.

Ivan rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the corners of his lips from turning upward, a small chuckle escaping him.

Alfred grunted softy beside him. "Ugh, this chicken must be really dry or something."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's making my throat kind of itchy or something. I don't know…" Alfred starting eating more of the rice; maybe it would make it feel better.

Ivan shrugged and continued looking around, thinking of other things they could possibly do. His thinking was interrupted by Alfred clearing his throat again.

"Man, I think I need more rice," Ivan looked at Alfred's rice bowl, completely empty. He must have downed most of it in one go, "Although, it's not helping much…" Alfred trailed off. He brought his hand up and started softly rubbing at his neck.

Now Ivan was starting to worry a little. He watched Alfred, the other's brows furrowing in discomfort.

"Actually…I think it's just getting worse," Alfred stood up, still rubbing his throat.

Ivan stood up with him, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the food court; I need to ask the cook something."

Ivan followed Alfred back to the small café. Did Alfred have allergies to something in the food? If he did, that really wasn't good, considering how much Alfred had eaten. Of course, it would depend on the severity of the allergies.

The walk was brief, and now Alfred was leaning over the counter, calling over the lady who had taken their order.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

She came over to them with a smile, "How may I help you?"

"Yeah, are there any tree nuts in the teriyaki chicken?"

Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a concerned one, matching Ivan's. "No, I'm pretty sure there aren't."

Alfred thought to himself for a second, "Are there any in the fried rice?"

"I do not know, I'll go ask the chef." The lady went into the back, leaving Alfred and Ivan waiting at the counter, both starting to worry.

"Alfred, are you allergic to tree nuts?" Ivan asked warily. Fretting blue eyes turned towards the Russian.

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking."

"Oh, dear...Alfred, there were peanuts in the rice. You probably didn't notice them because you ate it so fast."

"What?" Alfred grabbed Ivan by the scarf, yanking him down to eye level. "Please tell me you're trying to scare me or something."

"нет, I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Oh, shit," Alfred released his tight grip on the light pink scarf and instead brought his hands to his throat again, this time holding it like he was trying to protect it, "Ivan, I'm really allergic to those. As in, 'my throat will swell up and I won't be able to breath' allergic."

The American looked up at Ivan with worried eyes. At that moment something in Ivan clicked, and all resent or dislike he felt for the blonde disappeared, leaving behind a desperate urge to protect him.

It was then that the young woman came back, an older man in a chef's outfit. she approached them and gestured to the man. "The chef says that the only nuts in the rice are peanuts. is something wrong?"

Before Alfred could answer, Ivan jumped in and took matters into his own hands. "Yes, there is a problem. My friend here is highly allergic to peanuts and just ate a whole bowl of the rice. Could you please get and allergy kit out here?"

"Oh honey, of course! Ming!" she called out into the back. "Get the allergy kit out from the top shelf in the back. We have a boy here who's having a bad reaction," She continued to say something in Chinese, which Alfred didn't understand. Right now he was too busy trying not to have a panic attack. He could feel his windpipe constricting, and his lungs were starting to work harder to get enough air.

Ivan led them to the closest bench for them to sit down on.

A younger Oriental girl in her teens rushed out, stumbling a bit with a medium sized blue bag. When she spoke, she had a heavy accent. "What has your doctor told you to do in a situation like this? The needle or the pill?"

"The shot," Alfred held his hand out as the girl opened the bag and rummaged around for the device. She pulled it out and handed it to him.

"You know how to use it?" she asked him.

"Know how? Please, I'm like an expert at his by now," Alfred laughed half heartedly and took the shot out of the carrying tube as he held the device with the black tip pointing down, removing the activation cap. He lifted his hand, aiming the tip at his thigh.

"Are you going to stab yourself with that thing?" Ivan looked at Alfred, nearly horrified. He'd never learned exactly what you do with the epinephrine injections. He knew he shouldn't be so shocked, since it was an injection, but it surprised him nonetheless.

"Well, yeah. I mean, that's how you get it into your body." Alfred stated like it was common knowledge. Ivan groaned and looked away. Alfred shrugged and continued.

With one swift movement, Alfred jabbed the black tip into his thigh, wincing. Ivan had, unfortunately, decided to man up and look back at that moment. He instantly regretted it. He wasn't the squeamish person at all, and usually he would have loved to see Alfred stab himself with a needle, but for some reason seeing the black tip disappear within Alfred's leg made his stomach lurch.

After a few seconds, Alfred pulled the needle back out and pressed the tip firmly on the top of the table, then replaced it in the carrying tube.

Ivan waited for something else. "What, was that it?"

"Yup, now I just wait for the epinephrine to kick in, which should be pretty quickly." He could already feel his airway easing open again. He handed the used vaccine to the girl, who was still sitting there looking pale from what just happened. She took it and brought it back in the cafe to dispose of.

"Wait, but not all of the liquid was injected," Ivan was looking confused.

"It's not supposed to. Like I said, I've done this a lot. I don't really pay much attention to the ingredient labels on food..."

"I can believe that." They both sat there for a while, not feeling like talking. ivan was still concerned for Alfred, though. "Are you okay?"

Alfred looked at him with wide eyes, before scoffing. "Of course I'm okay! Something like that isn't going to kill me or anything. I mean, as long as I get the injection, of course. Or the pill, but those things taste disgusting." Alfred laughed it off, but stopped when he saw Ivan staring at him intensely.

"Alfred, would you tell me if you weren't okay?" Ivan asked.

Alfred didn't know whether to be flattered that Ivan cared so much, or thoroughly creeped out. He was stuck somewhere in between: annoyed. "Dude, you need to have more faith in me! I'm the hero - heroes can take care of themselves." Ivan still looked worried, though, so Alfred faked a reassuring smile.

Ivan seemed to relax, and smiled that stupid smile right back. He stood up and held out his hand to help Alfred up. "Shall we go find something to do to make this day worthwhile, then?"

Alfred hesitantly placed his hand into the larger one, letting Ivan pull him up. "Sure," he sighed, and they began walking down the road again. Alfred started to open his mouth his yell at the Russian for not letting go of his hand, but closed it before he said anything. He had no idea why he was, but...he sort of liked the feeling.

After a while, Alfred gripped Ivan's hand securely, and his natural bounce was evident in his steps. His smile was no longer forced.

* * *

The cricket's still there, so editing here was especially crappy. Please review and tell me what errors are here and I'll gladly go back and fix them. And yes, I won't deny it, this is really just another way for me to squeeze as many reviews out of you guys as possible. XD


	12. Sunflowers

I actually have a legit reason for this being late, believe it or not. About a week ago, the news came out that Connor Mantsch and Connor Porter and his father, Pat Porter, died in a tragic plane crash in Sedona, Arizona on Thursday morning, July 26. Both Connors were friends of mine, and it's been a real shock and reality check for all of us. I went to their funeral services today, and I was inspired to finally get this up by the great speech that Mantsch's older sister gave. I don't know if anyone here heard about the accident, but regardless, I just want to dedicate this chapter to both of them.

I hope wherever they are now, that they're having a kick-ass time rocking out to loud music and having all-you-can-eat iHop pancakes at 11 at night. (Don't ask, I don't really know either)

* * *

The rest of the day for Ivan went a little something like this: get dragged around by a madman for hours with no break, complaints get ignored, gets fed up with stupid American and dunk the blondes big head into the nearby bobbing for apples stand, Alfred somehow gets an apple and Ivan gets stuck with lugging a giant cat plush while Alfred drags him around for a couple more hours, gets persuaded into buying cotton candy, learns that that was a mistake once Alfred hits the sugar high.

Fortunately and unfortunately for Ivan, sugar highs only last so long before the low. Which is where they were now.

"God, my stomach huuuurts!" Alfred dramatically clutched his stomach, wailing dramatically to Ivan.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't inhaled three bags of cotton candy in less than five minutes, you wouldn't be having this problem, now would you?"

"Dude, you're the one who got me that much."

"It's not my fault you suffer from identity confusion and like to believe you're a vacuum."

"...I still blame you," Alfred puckered his lips and turned his back to the Russian. He had no doubt that when he got home, he would collapse on Mattie's bed and make his brother his personal slave again, demanding Pepto Bismol for his stomach ache.

That could wait, though. There was still time before the festival closed down for the day, and there was no way Alfred was going to leave until he was sure he had seen and done everything he could. If Ivan wanted to go home, that was too bad for him. If the Russian really wanted to, it wasn't like Alfred could keep him from leaving.

Not that he thought Ivan wanted to leave or anything. Alfred wasn't the best at "reading the atmosphere" as Kiku called it, but he was confident that the big guy was having as much fun with Alfred as Alfred was having with him.

Woah, back up. No. Alfred mentally smacked himself on the head, _'I'm not having fun with commie. I'm having fun _next _to him.'_

Glancing back over his shoulder, Alfred grinned at the peaceful smile that adorned Ivan's face. If the guys would be more natural like this more often, maybe people wouldn't be so afraid of him. He really did have a nice smile...

The Russian glanced back at Alfred, catching that Alfred had been staring at him before the blonde snapped his head back, staring straight ahead him. The way Alfred's ears turned red at the tip was the only give away to the crimson blush that covered the American's cheeks and nose like bad sunburn.

_'Damn it, what am I doing? Did I really just let him catch me staring at him like that? Man, I must look like a stupid school girl with a crush...Did I seriously just think that?' _Alfred wasn't sure if it was possible for his face to get redder, but it sure got a lot hotter than he remembered. Arthur was right; he really needed to stop thinking; it only made things worse.

Well, now that he needed to add face bleach to the list of things he would force Matthew to get, just to get rid of the remaining blush, Alfred decided that they might as well get on with it and scour out the rest of the place to see if they missed anything.

"Well, uh, I don't know if there's anywhere we haven't been to yet-"

"I doubt there is. You dragged me around for about five hours, so I would know."

"Well if there _is_, I just want to check it out really quick, and then we'll be done, I guess."

"...Oh, da. Of course. Let's go then," Ivan led the way in their quest to find the missed alleyway or stand that didn't exist. He didn't know why Alfred's comment about being done had thrown him off. Hadn't he just said that the American had dragged him around for more than five hours? It made sense that it was the end of the day.

So then, why did he feel like they just started?

Ivan thoughts were interrupted by a notorious voice calling out to Alfred, in all of its obnoxious glory.

"Oi! Alfred! What're you doing here with _him_?" the albino seemed to pop out of nowhere, much to Ivan's displeasure. He never liked Gilbert, which was fine with said Prussian, since the feeling was mutual.

Gilbert strode up to them, his usual cocky smile remaining despite the intense glare he was shooting at Ivan. The hostility vanished as red eyes met blue. The cockiness remained, of course.

"Gil, dude, what's up! I didn't expect to see you here," Alfred's attention was sucked towards the albino as he stepped forward, leaving Ivan behind him.

"I could say the same for you."

"Yup, I'm here. So, are you having fun?"

"Eh, it could be better. Back to my question though, what are you doing here with...him?"

"...Huh?" Alfred grunted intelligently, looking behind him slightly slack jawed. He had almost forgotten about Ivan for a minute there. Maybe this is what happens when one spends too much time with him; they turn invisible. Hey, it happened to Matthew.

"Oh, uh...Well, since we're going to the dance together, we thought it'd be a good idea to, er...get to know each other a little better, you know?"

Gilbert smirked at them, "By 'we' you mean your mom, right? I highly doubt that you two would decide to hang out willingly. Unless...things have changed?" his red eyes flickered between the two, expectantly.

Alfred was the last to figure out what the Prussian was getting at, and the first to speak up on it, "What? Woah, no way. We just want this to be tolerable, okay? There's nothing...going on between us. Right, Ivan?"

Ivan blinked as the spot light was transferred to him, "Uh...da, yes, right..." It was true, that was the reason they'd even bothered being in the same room as each other for the past few days. Tolerable.

Gilbert remained unconvinced. It was obvious in his eyes, in the worried frown that formed on his lips. "Al, can I talk to you in private for a second?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure, why - ack!" Alfred was cut off as Gilbert yanked him a few yards away, out of hearing distance from the Russian if they whispered. "Ow! Dude, what was that for? I was going to come anyway, you don't have to pull my arm off."

"Alfred, tell me the truth. Has Ivan been nice to you? He hasn't pulled any stupid tricks, right?" Alfred was taken aback by how serious the albino was acting.

"What? No, I mean, I don't think so. Why?"

"Oh, never mind. I just get a really bad feeling about him. I guess I just wanted to make sure..."

"Um...okay?" Alfred wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was a fact that these moments were rare, where Gilbert was serious, but that didn't mean they were any less random than any other time. It was best to nod and let the Prussian say what he was going to, but Alfred felt inclined to add in his opinion. "I really don't think he'd try anything funny on me, I've got contacts. If he pulls any freaky commie shit, I can guarantee he'll be getting a nice vacation with his little sister on a deserted island."

"I have heard he's afraid of her," Gilbert nodded.

"Excuse me, are you two done?" Ivan's voice appeared next to them, making them jump a little.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, you can have your date back now."

"I-I'm not his date!" Alfred sputtered.

"Sure, sure. Kesesesese!" the Prussian laughed loudly, then sighed, "Well it was good seeing you, Al. I...guess I'll see you later, then?"

"Yup! I think we'll be meeting up at the dance."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Anyway, I'll see you later then!" Gilbert started walking away, waving back at his friend and his enemy.

"Later, dude!" Alfred waved back, smile bright.

Once the albino was out of sight, Ivan turned to Alfred. "What did want to talk about?"

"You know, he didn't say anything in front of you for a reason. It's none of your business."

"...Was it about me?"

"No!" that was a lie, "It was nothing, okay?" That was also a lie. Gilbert had been genuinely concerned for a while there - enough that Alfred had almost believed it was going to be something important. Now he was sure it was just his friend and his grudge against the Russian, believing he was the bad guy who manipulated people in everything he did. Which, he sort of was, but not as much as everyone assumed.

"Alright. Well, I'm tired. I don't think there's anything else you wanted to do?"

"No..."

"Then I guess it's time we headed home, da?"

"Right...I guess so."

"...Bye, then..." Ivan nodded to Alfred, before walking away in the opposite direction Gilbert had, in the direction of the parking lot.

Alfred didn't feel right, just leaving it there. The goodbye felt too forced, too sudden.

"W-wait!" he didn't mean for his voice to sound so disgustingly desperate, but at least it stopped the Russian long enough for Alfred to catch up to him.

"Da?" Ivan patiently waited for the American to say what he wanted.

"Um...At least let me walk you to your car. It's not very heroic to just leave you by yourself," admittedly, that was more of something you did at the end of a date, but Alfred had had a good time, and it was common courtesy, so why not?

"Ah, I don't have a car. I usually just get a lift from my sister."

The comment threw Alfred off. He wanted to apologize for bringing it up, but Ivan seemed perfectly fine with the fact.

"Oh. Then in that case, I'll drive you home, if you'd like."

"Really? Okay then...thank you?"

"Of course! It's only the hero's duty!"

Ivan wasn't sure why the other was doing this. It wasn't necessary, but if Alfred wanted to, who was he to tell the blonde that he couldn't.

They didn't say anything else as the walked down the street towards the parking lot. The path was more vacant now that it was the end of the day. They didn't have the problem of bumping into people or maneuvering around crowds like earlier. It was just them and the soft pads of their feet on the dirt.

Finally, Alfred stopped them in front of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck - his pride and joy, his baby.

Without a word Ivan made his around the vehicle and sat into shotgun, buckling up as he waited for Alfred to start the car. The engine roared to life, a soft hum filling the silence until Alfred spoke up.

"Where to?"

"My house isn't too far from here, just get onto the highway and I'll direct you from there."

"Can do," they fell back into silence, and it was starting to drive Alfred mad. He was a conversationalist, and it didn't sit right with him to be quiet.

Since his lame attempts at making small talk were quickly shot down, he made a point to ask more questions about where they were going than was needed. He felt stupid, not knowing what to say to Ivan. He knew the constant questions made him look incapable of retaining information given to him, but anything was better than not talking at all.

Ivan hadn't lied. Once off the highway, it was only a five minute drive until they entered a small neighborhood. Alfred wasn't going to deny that he was extremely curious to find out what kind of place the Russian lived in.

Was it like a secret base where his family could practice their communist ways, hidden in secret where no one could find out? Or would it be like in the movies; seemingly perfect on the outside, but really in the middle of the house there's an oversized freezer with the frozen bodies of their victims? Alfred had only met Ivan and Natalia, but if their anything to judge by, then he wouldn't put the thought past their family.

"It is right up there, the house with lots of sunflowers," Ivan said as he pointed to a one story house not too far ahead.

"Damn," Alfred eyebrows hit his hairline, "'Lots of sunflowers' does _not _do it justice. I think that's this state's worth of them right there."

Alfred almost couldn't tell the light beige color of the walls from under the massive patches of bright yellow. These weren't the baby kind either; it looked like all of these could match Ivan's height, or even surpass it, which was saying something considering how tall the guy was.

Alfred pulled into the driveway, making sure the parking breaks were on before turning off the engine and getting out.

"_Spasibo_. I take much pride in my garden. Unfortunately, I don't know how much longer they will last. Even the winters here are too cold for these beauties," Ivan sighed as he lovingly stroked one of the large petals near him, smiling sadly.

_'Wow, talk about a Kodak moment...'_ Alfred thought to himself. He'd never seen the Russian seem so at peace.

"You really love those flowers, don't you?"

Ivan turned and smiled brightly, "Yes, very, very, much so."

"But I mean, _why_? Out of all the flowers in the world, why do you like them? They aren't rare or anything, you can find them anywhere around here."

"Nyet," Ivan shook his head, "They may not be special here in America, but where I come from, it's too cold for anything delicate like this to grow," he reached into the patch of sunflowers, easily snapping a smaller one at the base and bringing it to his chest to cradle. "The plants and people of Russia have something in common to live in that climate. You have to be sturdy and strong and resistant to bitter winters and chilly summers."

"Don't you have warm days in Russia, too?"

"Da, in the summer there are actually many days that are warm, but anything that grows during that time is quickly killed off by frosts.

"In America, however...you have so many different climates, so much potential for nature to flourish. Sunflowers always reminded me of the sun, so warm and kind. If I had to choose one, that would be my favorite thing about America...I'm sorry, I'm rambling," Ivan chuckled lightly.

"No, no it's fine. I never really thought about it like that before...If I may ask, why did your family move here anyway?" Alfred was curious. Ivan had always acted like he hated it here, criticizing the government's choices, and just the way things were done.

"Ah. That's actually a bit personal for me. I don't really feel comfortable sharing with you. Sorry," Ivan looked at Alfred apologetically.

"That's okay. I mean, I know there are lots of things I still wouldn't share with you, so I know what you mean..." he trailed off, leaving it there. There was nothing much left to say. He had gotten Ivan home safely, and it was time for him to leave.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Alfred waved and walked back to his truck, opening the drivers door.

"Ah, Alfred!" Ivan called out nervously.

"Hmm, yeah?" Alfred stopped to look back at the Russian. It might have been a trick of the light, but his cheeks seemed pinker than usual.

"I...I just wanted to say thanks for going to the festival with me."

"Oh. Yeah, of course! I mean, it wasn't my idea, but it went pretty well."

"Da.I didn't particularly enjoy being dragged everywhere like a slave, but," Ivan stared at the yellow flower that he was still holding close to his chest, "I had a good time," he added softly, just loud enough for Alfred to hear.

The American paused before nodding, "Yeah, me too."

* * *

Alright. One more chapter to go, and then the long awaited dance! Oh my gosh, I have so much planned for that, I can't wait to write it.


	13. Tums

Alright, guess who loves their fans so much that they stayed up until five in the morning just to get this out? I am!

Yeah, I just found out the other day that I'll be gone all of this week, so I absolutely had to get this out. I know it's short and rather filler-ish, but as promised, that means the next chapter is the long awaited dance! Yay! I can't wait to write it, I have so much planned for these two.

Well, I fell like a zombie now, so editing is none.

Enjoy~!

* * *

Matthew was leaning back on the kitchen counter, peacefully reading the newest issues of Times Magazine. He shook his head after every article explaining how messed up the US congress and economy had gotten. With so many battles over simple things, he was surprised this country hadn't just collapsed yet.

In his opinion, they should just move to Canada. It was so peaceful there, not to mention the natural beauty. It really was a shame how patriotic the rest of his family was, and how they scoffed at the thought of leaving their land.

Especially Alfred. That blonde idiot would personally shut down McDonald's before he moved anywhere else.

The Canadian was pulled out of his thoughts by the unmistakable sound of the front door closing. Really, they needed a new door. You could hear that thing from Toronto.

In walked the American previously filling Matthew's thoughts. Violet eyes watched Alfred, not missing the slight upturn at the corner of Alfred's lips.

"Someone's in a good mood," Matthew set down his magazine to welcome his brother home after a long day. He _had _been gone since relatively early that morning.

"Huh?" Alfred went to the fridge, delving into the shelves in search of something to eat, despite his stomach nagging at him, telling him to just get the dang Tums already, "Yeah, I guess. Do we have any more regular Coke? All I'm seeing it Diet..."

"You're the one who switched our supply to Diet last month, remember?"

"Damn," Alfred shut the door dejectedly, slumping his shoulders and shifting his weight to one foot, then the other. "...Would you-?"

"No."

"Why nooot?" Alfred whined.

"Because, last time I went to the store to buy you soda, you made me buy thirty dollars worth of Lucky Charms and a dinosaur shaped bread cutter," the older brother crossed his arms.

"Dude, come on, that thing is still freaking awesome, and you know it," Alfred laughed. It was really was cool. He remembered spazzing out the first few days after getting it that his mom would send him to school with dino-shaped PB&J sandwiches.

Matthew lightly hit Alfred on the arm, chuckling along with him. He was still curious why he was in such a good mood after spending the entire day with Ivan - his previously claimed rival.

"But really, Al, is there a reason you're so happy?" he asked.

Alfred smiled brightly this time, prepared to go into detail about the three whole bags of blue cotton candy he had downed in minutes, but Matthew stopped him, anticipating the rant.

"I don't need to hear about how much you ate in what amount of time. Just give me the gist of it."

"Dude, you know me way too well. Well, at first it was really awkward, 'cause neither of us knew what to do, but then I decided I could still save the day like the Hero I am, and convinced Ivan to do a bunch of stuff with me, like bobbing for apples - which I totally dominated at - pumpkin carving contests - which I also dominated at - and we went around to a bunch of food stands. Oh! Which, funny story, you should have seen Ivan's face! So, were at this Chinese food place, right? And it turns out the rice I was eating had peanuts in it-"

Matthew gasped. "Alfred! You're allergic to tree nuts, remember? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, that's what I was about to explain, so let me tell the story!"

"Sorry," he couldn't help it, Al was his brother. He'd been through one too many instances where Al had stupidly found a way to consume as many tree nuts as possible and scare the life out of everyone.

"So, anyways, I had an allergic reaction of course. Ivan _totally_ freaked out like Mom did when she found out we set the Christmas tree on fire when we were eight-"

"I told her getting a real one was a bad idea."

"I'm talking here! Anyway, so the guys at the restaurant sent this girl out with the emergency kit, and when I took the needle and gave myself the shot, oh man, I though Ivan was gonna pass out! And...then..." Alfred slowed down, beginning to look more thoughtful, "He got really...nice, afterward. I mean, he _really _wanted to make sure I was okay. I guess it sort of caught me off guard. I never really expected him to be capable of treating people like human beings..."

Matthew refrained from letting his smirk show on the outside. He knew it. They may not know it yet, but after years of hanging around Francis had taught him enough to see this coming.

It looked like Alfred was finally starting to get it into his thick skull that Ivan wasn't as bad as he proclaimed he was. Matthew had always tried to be nice to the Russian, but was usually forgotten, but now he couldn't hold anything against him. He appreciated Ivan's concern for his brother.

Alfred remained silent then, but Matthew was eager to hear more though.

"So? What happened after that?"

Alfred was brought out of his short daze and into the present world.

"Oh, um, after that we went around for a little while longer. We ran into Gilbert, which was cool...um...let's see. Oh yeah! When it was time to go, I was totally heroic and drove Ivan home. You should have seen his place! There were sunflowers _everywhere_. He really loves them, you just don't even know. And then...well, no that's actually about it. Then I drove home and here I am."

"So basically you dragged him by his wrist all day?"

"Well, I don't know if that's the best way to word it, but yeah."

"And he was okay with it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, he complained a few times, but didn't really try to do something else, I guess. Why?"

Matthew couldn't hold it anymore. He smirked knowingly at his brother, slightly shaking his head.

"What?" Alfred asked demandingly.

"Nothing, nothing," Mattie waved it off. Pushing himself off the counter, he left the kitchen and went into the bathroom, quickly finding the Tums behind the mirror, and returning to the kitchen where Alfred still waited, looking at the other curiously.

"What's that?"

Matthew tossed him the medicine, "I know you're going to need this. I don't want you complaining later at night."

Alfred grinned at his brother, "Like I said bro, you know me too well."

Quickly popping a single pill, Alfred reached into the fridge again and pulled out the milk, downing some straight from the bottle. He knew their mom hated when he did that, but she wasn't here, now was she?

Already starting to feel better with medicine for his stomach working its magic, Alfred joined Matthew on the couch to spend the rest of the night watching ESPN.

The American's stomach began to twist in a different way, however, when he remembered something.

The dance was tomorrow night.

Leaning into Matthew's shoulder, Alfred concentrated on the screen, trying to forget about what was soon to come.

* * *

Yup, short chapter is short, but it (hopefully) should hold you guys until next week and just remind you that I'm not dead and everything is slowly getting back to normal.

Until next time, ciao!


	14. Caramel Apples Are Good For the Soul

**Edit**: No, I didn't go back and proofread like a good fluffy (I know, for shame), but I put the link for a better picture of Ivan's costume!

Holy crap. This...took me forever. With so much homework a night, I thought I would never get it done! Stupid school is stupid. Anyway, here it is! The dance!

But don't worry, this isn't the end of it. I can promise at least two more chapters, and who knows? Maybe there'll be more.

Warning: Proofreading? What's that?

**Also:** Guys, guess what? Just five more reviews, and I'll be at 100! I've never gotten to 100 before, so pretty please, just do this for me? *holds out e-cake which I totally didn't e-bake just to bribe you guys*

Enjoy!

* * *

_ 6:10_ _PM_

The red, white, and blue numbers displayed the time on Alfred's Captain America alarm clock, making his heart beat a little faster.

"Yo, Mattie! Are you almost done in there?" Alfred rapped on the door to their shared bathroom door for the fifth time that minute.

"You asked me the same question ten seconds ago, and my answer is still the same as ten seconds ago: I would be done if you would stop asking!" Matthew replied, annoyed that Alfred wouldn't leave him to change in peace. "Why don't you change in your bedroom? It's not like it's taken or anything."

"But I have to go to the bathroom, too~!"

"Too bad."

Alfred huffed and continued his pacing in front of the shared bathroom door. It was 6:10 – 6:11, as a quick glance to the clock corrected – and Mattie still hadn't let him into the bathroom to change. Alfred had suggested just changing in the same room together, since they were bros and all, but the Canadian would have none of that. Now it was 6:12, Alfred wasn't in his costume, and they still had to pick Ivan up in time for their mom to get pictures of the three of them. And he still had to pee.

Finally, the bathroom door swung open, revealing a slightly irritated Canadian. "See? I'm done."

Alfred didn't give Matthew a second glance as he rushed onto the tiled floor and immediately stood in front of the toilet. This is what he'd been waiting for!

"Oh my god, Al! Close the door, at least!" Matthew covered his eyes desperately with one hand, blushing like a red maple leaf, while slamming the door for Alfred with the other (well, as hard as Matthew _could _slam the door, meaning he shut it like a regular American).

Alfred just finished up what he started with a smirk. Oh, how he loved making Mattie flustered.

Now, back to business! Unlike his brother, Alfred was into his costume within three minutes, and made his dramatic entrance back into the bedroom, startling Matthew in the process.

"So? What do you think?" Alfred asked, posing so Matthew could get a good look at his outfit.

The Canadian smiled as he looked over the old blue jeans covered by the worn, brown leather chaps that Alfred had purchased a few years ago, and had insisted on wearing them everyday for the first couple of weeks afterwards. Tucked messily into his jeans was a plain white button up shirt. Over it was a simple vest that matched the chaps, the hem coming down to his waist. To top it all of was Alfred's American flag bandana around the neck, his beloved cowboy hat, and some riding boots to complete the look. All in all, Al made a very fine cowboy.

Matthew admitted, "You look really great."

"Haha, thanks! You don't look too bad yourself, Mattie," Alfred commented, slightly tugging on the leather strap that ran across Matthew's chest, from on shoulder to the opposite side of his waist. "What are dressed as again? A moony?"

Matthew deadpanned. "They're called _Mounties_, Alfred. It's not that hard to remember.

"Yeah, yeah, same difference-"

"Same _thing_, Alfred. Same. _Thing_! 'Same difference' makes no sense."

"Yes it does!"

"No, Al, it really doesn't. Now before you go into a rant explaining how that phrase actually means anything - which I know you'd just be making up off the top of your head - we should go and pick up Ivan now."

The two walked down the stairs and found their mom waiting for them in the kitchen, camera strapped to her wrist as she read the newspaper for the second time that day.

She looked up at the sound of her sons' footsteps and smiled brightly, squealing quietly, "Oh, my boys look so handsome! I can't wait, let me get a picture."

The two boys stood rolled their eyes, preparing for the onslaught from their personal paparazzi. Once their mom finally stopped clicking the camera (mainly because the storage on it had been filled up, and there was no way she was going to make room by deleting anything), they hopped into the car and let Alfred drive, since he was the only one who knew where the Russian lived.

It was a faster drive than Alfred remembered, but didn't really care as he was too eager to finally see Ivan in the costume he had picked out for him. Admittedly, at the time he just wanted to embarrass the big guy, but now he honestly did want to see big-scary-Ivan wearing an innocent, fluffy, polar bear outfit.

Alfred rung the doorbell once, then twice more after a few seconds, then continued to repeatedly punch the button until an extremely irritated and nervous Ivan answered the door.

Before Alfred could speak up, Ivan had grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him back to the car, shoving him into the back seat and climbing in after him. Looking up, he breathed in relief to see that - who he assumed was Alfred's mom - had already switched positions and was ready to drive off.

"Woah, dude, what's up?" Alfred asked curiously after he recovered from being tossed into his seat like a rag doll. He sat up straight and buckled in, noticing how Ivan was staring out the back window as they began to drive away, eyeing the house cautiously. He wasn't even dressed up yet.

"You know my little sister, da?"

"Oh, Natalia? The crazy one?"

"...Da..that one. She still lives with me in that house, and she doesn't know where I'm going or who I'm going with. Actually, I don't think she knows that I'm going anywhere. I was afraid that with you ringing the bell like that, she'd get to the door first and catch on. Though I'm sure she knows something's going on, now..."

"Oh...well, you're safe with us, now!" Alfred tried to ease Ivan's worry, but even then, the Russian continued to glance behind him ever once and a while.

"So, did you bring you costume with you at least?"

"Yes, it's in the bag next to you."

"Ah," Alfred picked up the bag and examined it, "Well, no worries, you can change in the school's bathroom, no problem."

The rest of the ride to the school continued with small talk, no one noticing and absence of a certain Canadian, who sat squished quite uncomfortably under Ivan.

* * *

The first thing they saw was the giant light-up pumpkin in front of the gym's entrance, telling the world that this is where the party was. Couples and groups of friends were filing into the large building, laughing and goofing off. Some stopped by the pumpkin to get pictures taken, which was the second thing their mother noticed.

"Let's go over there so I can get a picture of you three!" she made a cursory search for a parking place, and then dragged the three boys to the bright orange lights. "Alright, Alfred, stand next to Ivan, then Matthew can stand next to you."

They got into formation and smiled for the camera, waiting for the flash. Once temporarily blinded, they made to say goodbye and go in.

"Not so fast! Mattie, you can go ahead, but I want Al and Ivan to stay behind."

Matthew nodded and left, leaving a confused Alfred and Ivan behind.

"What's up, mom?"

"Well, you _are _going to the dance together, so it only seems right to get a picture with just the two of you."

"Oh, okay," Alfred stepped back to Ivan's side.

His mom just frowned. "Come on guys, don't be so shy! Put your arms around each other!" Alfred's mom urged.

"What? Do we have to~?" the American whined.

"It's fine, Alfred. It's just one picture, da?" Ivan chimed in. Honestly, he didn't care one way or the other.

Alfred huffed and reluctantly dangled one around the Russian's waist since it would be too difficult to hold his shoulders, and smiled at the camera. Ivan did the same, and before they knew it the paparazzi had finally driven away, waving back at them.

"Welp, let's go in, then!" Alfred grouped in with the rest of the crowd as they entered the large double doors in the large space.

Classic Halloween music was being blasted on the speakers, and there was a large group in the middle of the gym dancing, high off of sugar and happiness that this was the last time they'd be here for a week or so.

Alfred didn't look twice at the dance floor, however; he made a beeline to the snack bar, in search of the food that held all that glorious sugar, leaving Ivan to his own devices.

To his delight, the long tables were covered from end to end with cookies, brownies, chocolate, candy bars, punch, soda, and caramel apples, which were the first thing Alfred picked up, being careful to avoid the ones with peanuts on them.

Once he found a nice place to sit and eat his treat, Alfred finally looked around, watching everyone. This year must have been good for creativity, because everyone had great costumes. He was impressed that only a few had the general witch or ghost, and even then they had found ways to jazz the characters up.

So far Alfred hadn't seen any of his friends, but that was okay. He could have fun without them until they did show.

Meanwhile, Ivan was being reminded why he hated dances. Now that Alfred was out of sight, he was lost. What was he supposed to do? Dance? Yeah, right, just the thought of it made Ivan want to laugh and grimace at the same time.

He really didn't want to have to cling to Alfred's arm the whole time like a little girl, but he really didn't have much of a choice.

Now he just had to find Alfred...

Snack bar.

Sure enough, when Ivan found the snack bar, he found the American, munching away at what looked to be his third caramel apple, judging by the two popsicle stick with residues of the sweet candy on them, still laying on his lap.

"You really should throw those away."

"You really should put your damn costume on before I put it on for you," Alfred didn't look up at the Russian, and instead kept looking into the crowd.

Ivan looked, too, trying to see what had the blonde's attention, but he honestly didn't see anything worth looking at. "Perhaps I don't want to put that silly thing on."

Alfred finally looked at him feigning hurt at the statement, "It is _not_ silly! It's awesome and adorable! Now go put it on!"

"...Is that a command?"

"Yes. Now do it."

Ivan sighed. He was going to have to get dressed whether he wanted to or not. Gripping the plastic bag in his hand tighter, he slung it over his shoulder, making his way away from the commotion and to the small bathrooms next to the entrance. At least he'd know where to come back to.

* * *

Now that his distraction was gone again, Alfred's eyes wondered back into the middle of the room. On the makeshift dance floor, he was surprised by how many people were dancing. It looked like everyone really was getting into this year. After finding Kiku, he saw that even the Japanese boy was getting sucked into the fun by Feliciano, who apparently gave up on getting Ludwig to dance, by the looks of it. Yup, everyone was dancing.

Everyone.

Except for him.

Sure there were a few stranglers to the side, but he knew that they had just come over to rest for a while, get a drink, or - like the couple a few feet behind him were doing - make out in the shadows.

Then there was Alfred, sitting there at the snack bar pathetically as he waited for his friend(?)/date came back, so they could do what? Stare at each other the whole time? What was the point of going to a dance if you weren't going to dance?

He really didn't want to, but a part of him didn't mind if he danced with Ivan. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure no one would be paying attention enough to recognize who Ivan was, with how much the costume covered him and all...

Maybe he would.

If Ivan would just friggen come back already!

"Alfred?" the sudden voice behind the American startled him, making him whip around to face...

"Arthur? What are you doing here?"

"Well, this _is _a dance for students, and last time I checked, I'm a student," Arthur deadpanned.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I just...didn't expect you to actually come to a _dance_, and...man, you look awesome," Alfred was amazed at how great the pirate costume looked on Arthur. All of a sudden, he didn't look like that nagging British boy Alfred knew a few days ago who acted like he always had a stick up his ass, and more like a sly pirate that you didn't want to mess with.

Of course, _now_ Arthur starts being really hot, right when Alfred can't have him anymore. Stupid British people.

"Ah, thanks," Arthur looked away awkwardly, "It's actually homemade, so I'm happy it looks good."

"Good? Dude, for homemade, it's damn awesome."

"Flattery gets you nowhere, Alfred," the Brit smiled, "but thanks. You don't look half bad yourself... So, I hear from Gilbert that you actually do have a date tonight."

"Of course, he told you," Alfred rolled his eyes. It was so like the Prussian to complain to everyone about loosing the bet, thus telling everyone everything in the process.

"Yeah, he does do that...Is it someone I know?"

The question caught Alfred off guard. So Gilbert hadn't said anything about who it was? Weird. Well, shoot, how was he supposed to explain to Arthur that he was taking his used-to-be most hated enemy (who was still currently avoided by the rest of the school) to the dance with him, and that somehow they were actually sort of friends now?

"I was right, you didn't move."

Looks like he wouldn't have to explain it as much as he thought he would. "Ivan, you're back-! Oh my god..." Alfred stood up and walked around Ivan.

"Alfred, I swear if you laugh..."

"I-I'm not laughing! I'm not laughing...pfft!" Alfred couldn't contain his laughter anymore. It was just...so priceless.

He had seen the costume on display, and it was obviously was meant for a girl, but it looked so much better on Ivan. Well, at least Alfred thought so anyway.

On the Russian's hands were large paw shaped gloves, and on the rest of him was a full body bear suit, the "hood" coming up over his head with two fluffy ears to math the fluffiness of the rest of it. The lower half was cut short by the two white boots that the legs of the outfit were tucked into. Over all...it was really cute with Ivan childish pout.

"It's...so...cute!" Alfred managed to huff out between bursts of laughter.

"It is not 'cute'! It's degrading..." the victim of Alfred's strange choice of costumes whined, crossing his arms. He looked over at Arthur and his pout dropped, eyes widening slightly. "What? Did you bring him over just so he could laugh, too?"

Alfred turned around, remembering Arthur. Said Brit stood there, looking the man in the polar bear get up a look over. As he noticed the violet eyes, he realized just who it was that was standing next to Alfred.

"...Ivan? Is that you?"

Ivan hung his head slightly, "Da, it's me."

"But..." Arthur trailed of. Ivan was standing right next to Alfred, and they _weren't_ trying to kill each other? From what he'd seen, it looked like they were actually being...friendly with each other, as hard as it was to believe. Why were they together, though?

"Alfred? Can I speak to you in private for a moment?"

"What is with people and dragging me away when they see me with Ivan?" Alfred wondered out loud as he let Arthur drag him away, avoiding the couple that was _still _making out.

"Alfred, would you care to explain why you and Ivan are with each other and not trying to rip each other's throat out with a fork?" Arthur look at Alfred sternly, worry beginning to work its way onto his face.

"Well, after...we broke up, I didn't want to look like a complete loser who didn't get a date to the dance, but since I had already rejected everyone...there were only a handful of people that were still available."

"So, you chose Ivan. _Ivan_, that creep who you always swore you would tie up and through into the Chesapeake Bay?"

"Hey, he's actually not as bad as a lot of people think, okay? He's still creepy as hell, but he's actually been, well, not cool, but nice to be around," Alfred defended. He felt like this was a repeat of when Gilbert pulled him over at the festival.

"Well, maybe, but you guys have fought so much in the past, how do you expect me to believe you're all of a sudden buddy-buddy within a couple of weeks?"

"I don't know, I guess we just found sides of each other that we were able to connect with better," Alfred shrugged.

The Brit stared at Alfred skeptically. The way he said that, it almost seemed like, "...Alfred, do you _like _Ivan?"

"W-what?" Alfred sputtered, cheeks flushing, "No! Of course not! Man, first Mattie, now you? Is it just because I like guys, and Ivan's a guy, and all of a sudden I don't hate him anymore? Why do people automatically assume that that means I _like_ him like that?" Alfred struggled to keep it down to a whisper, not wanting Ivan to hear their conversation.

Arthur blushed and looked away, "I'm sorry, Alfred. I shouldn't have assumed anything..."

Alfred ran a hand through his hair, careful not to knock his hat off, "Ah, it's fine, dude. It just...irks me that people are thinking that..." Maybe asking Ivan to dance wasn't such a good idea after all. Besides, would he even want to?

Arthur smiled gently at the American, "Well, I should go. Francis will go into one of his dramatic panic attacks if I leave him alone for too long. Either that, or find some poor soul to flirt with."

They both chuckled lightly. Francis would so do that.

Arthur left while mumbling something about frogs, leaving Alfred to go back to Ivan, smiling again and shaking head at that ridiculous costume.

He sat down next to Ivan, grabbing another treat from the table, this time handing it out to Ivan.

"Caramel apple?"

Yeah, asking Ivan just wouldn't be a good idea.

* * *

From across the room, a pair of crimson and light purple eyes watched the two with great interest.

"Do you think they're going to dance?" a quiet voice asked.

"Hah! Doubt it. Neither of them have enough balls to ask the other. I bet you twenty dollars that they'll sit there the whole time."

"Gil, stop trying to make bets with everyone. You know you never win."

"I do to win! I just haven't been very lucky lately."

"Of course, of course."

"...Do you want them to dance?"

"I don't know, I think it'd be good for them. I really think Al likes Ivan; he's just too stubborn to realize it himself. He needs a push."

"Well, if they don't dance tonight, I know exactly the push to give. Birdie, start spreading the word. Forget dinner, after-party at my house."

"Okay...and will you stop calling me Birdie?"

"Sure thing, Birdie."

[line break]

Alfred couldn't take it anymore. If he had to sit through one more minute of sitting there next to the Russian, silent, watching everyone else in front of him having the time of their life, he was going to scream. Or something like that.

_Fuck it_, Alfred thought. If he had to force Ivan to get up and dance with him jsut to break this torture, then so be it.

"Ivan?"

"Da?"

"You wanna-"

"Alfred!"

Alfred face-palmed as he was interrupted. "What do want, Gilbert?" he asked annoyed.

"Nothing much, just thought I should tell you about the awesome party I'm throwing after the dance at my house. Of course, you and your date there should come! Because, you know, it'll be awesome!" the albino announced proudly.

"Really? Cool, I guess," he nudged Ivan arm, "Hey, you wanna go to Gilbert's party?" It really wasn't Alfred's decision if they went or not, since he was the one driving Ivan back home.

The Russian shrugged, "I don't really care one way or the other. If you want to go, sure."

"Okay. Well, I guess we'll see you at the party, 'kay Gil?"

"Awesome!" Gilbert fist pumped the air, as he walked away, searching for his partner in crime for his awesome plan.

* * *

One. Hour. One fucking hour had passed, and still nothing. Alfred was just happy that this thing would be ending in about ten minutes.

What was the reason for his depression? For the past sixty minutes, Alfred had tried time and again to work of the nerve to ask Ivan to dance with him, and then some _idiot_ would come up and interrupt him. It was usually one of his friends. What happened then? Well, he said goodbye to the courage he had, and spent the next ten minutes trying to get it up again, just for the whole process to repeat. Now, he'd given up, and he was depressed.

Looking to his right, he saw that even Ivan was having a better time than him, apparently talking to Yao about who-knows-what.

Although...it looked like they were saying goodbye. Yao was walking away towards Kiku, and now Ivan was just standing there all alone.

Looking around, Alfred made sure that all of his friends were occupied with something or far away from them. It seemed to be all clear.

Alfred took a breath. It was now or never. Standing up from his chair, he kept his guard up as he made his way towards the Russian. So far so good...

"Hey, Ivan?"

"Da, Alfred?" Ivan sighed, turning to face the American. Alfred kept trying to ask him something these past few hours, and he honestly doubted this time would be any different. Yes, he knew that Alfred had been trying to ask, and he knew he was frustrated with someone intervening every time. What Alfred was trying to ask, well, Ivan had no idea, but he almost wished Alfred would just give it up.

Looking to the sides, then behind them one last time, Alfred felt his heart beat in excitement. It looked like he would be able to finally get his questions out now.

"Ivan, I was just wondering...do you want to, like...dance...? Like, with...me?" Alfred stumbled out. Even after so many times trying, it was still embarrassing to say.

Ivan's eyes widened. What? Wasn't Alfred the one who had told him in the mall that he would never dance with him? He didn't know if he should say yes or not. He really wasn't a dancer. Big boned bodies like his just weren't the most graceful.

Alfred eagerly waited for Ivan to reply. It almost looked like he was going to say yes...

Alfred face dropped, "You're kidding me..."

The slow dance. They just _had _to play the slow songs the moment he finally asked Ivan to dance.

He looked back up to Ivan's face, sighing as he already knew the answer now.

"I'm sorry...but I don't think it'd be right for us to dance...to the slow songs...I'm sorry," Ivan apologized sincerely.

Alfred hung his head, shaking it, "It's fine. I don't think it'd be right either. I'm going to go find Mattie."

Huffing again, Alfred walked away with what dignity he had left. He couldn't believe that he, Alfred F. Jones, had sat through the entire dance, and didn't actually _dance_. How pathetic.

Thankfully, it looked like his brother wasn't doing anything exciting either, just sitting in a corner with his beloved stuffed polar bear, which was still a mystery to their family where he got it from.

"You brought that thing to the dance? Really? Aren't you getting too old for stuffed animals?"

"A-Alfred! Of course I brought Kumakiko-"

"Kumajiro."

"_That's what I said_ - Kumajiro with me," Matthew crooned over bear, petting it's fur.

"Weirdo. Anyway, looks like the dance was a bit of a bust. Like, three hours, and Ivan and I didn't dance once."

Matthew looked down, frowning, "So Gilbert was right," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh! N-nothing!" the Canadian flushed, not wanting to give anything away. After Gilbert had come back and reported that Alfred and Ivan would come to the party, Matthew was told exactly what the plan was. It was a good thing a lot of people were up for the party, otherwise it wouldn't work. Though, knowing what was going to happen once at Gilbert's house, Matthew worried about all the variables in the "game" they were to play. It was times like these that he really wished his brother hadn't hung out with Francis at all.

Nevertheless, he knew that he had to do this for his brother's sake.

Looking around, he noticed that the song had ended, ending the dance as well.

"It looks like it's over now."

"Yup. That's three hours of my life I won't get back. Come on, Mattie let's go find Ivan so we can get out of here and go to Gilbert's. At least we know the guy can throw a party."

They found Ivan quickly enough, and soon they were on their way - along with about fifteen other cars - to Gilbert's.

Matthew really hoped his brother would figure out what was going on once the game started, and not do anything stupid...

* * *

I actually had started to write the next chapter with this, but then I started to really hate the second part, so I decided to leave you guys with this. A stupid cliff hanger. =.=

Don't kill me!

Notes:

Costume Ivan is wearing: .dreamstime royalty-free-stock-image-young-girl-polar-bear-costume-image12214716 Of course, Ivan isn't a girl...but that's the costume! Cute, no?

For the songs that were playing during the dance, you can just go to YouTube and probably find some cool Halloween party mixes for stuff like this. I listened to a bunch of it while writing this...

Next Chapter Preview: A really, really messed up party game that I had to play one time. Pretty funny - when it's not your turn...*shivers*


	15. A Kissing Game

Four things to update:

1) My school got our exchange students from Germany, Mexico, and Japan last week! All I can say about the Japanese kids: they are the cutest people I've seen in my life...

2)If you haven't already, go see the new movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It is seriously the best movie ever, with plenty of yaoi moments for all of you guy on guy fans out there.

3)My friend Teh Llaminator and I wrote our newest chapters at about the same time. We both joked that I should just post the next chapter of this when it's actually Halloween, lol. And also, go check out her story, if you haven't read it. It's called Dimension Suspension, and is really good. Lots of 2p!Russia x America goodness~

And Teh Llaminator, since I know you're reading this even though I never gave you permission to, this is me asking you once again, why the hell are you reading this?! Actually...why are most of you guys reading this? There's like...no editing...at all...that usually turns _me_ away from a story.

**4)**You guys...last chapter, I only asked for like, five reviews to get me to 100, and you gave me like, twice as many plus some. You all seriously rock! Since I didn't mention this last chapter, I want to do something special for the 100th reviewer, but it won't be another story (because heaven forbid I start another one). My little gift for you is that you can have a say in what happens in this next chapter (whoopie, great prize, right?).

However, since the actually 100th reviews was someone whom I've never seen review before...I decided that wouldn't be quite fair to the people who have been reading this from almost start to finish, so instead, PastaKolCheeseburger-San, since you're the 101st reviewer, you're the lucky reader, I guess!

Now, enough with this monster A/N, and onto the story again!

* * *

"Yeah...okay...yes, Mom, I promise we'll be home no later than eight tomorrow...don't drink, don't do drugs, and don't have sex - I know. Don't worry, Mom, it's just a small party..." Alfred looked around him. There had to be at least a third the student body in here - and this was just the living room. He knew his mother already knew what kind of party this was; the music was loud enough that if he could block out the sound around him for long enough, it would just come right back through the echo over the phone.

_"...Okay, honey. Just be safe, okay?"_

"Hey, how come you're telling me to be safe and not Matt?"

_"Because I know he won't be persuaded to do anything. You on the other hand..."_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alfred asked loudly over the background noise.

_"Nothing, sweetie, just don't do anything stupid. I have to go in to work now. Love you!" _she added in before she hung up.

"Love you too, Mom," Alfred grumbled. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Alfred sighed. Of course this was the one night his mother got called in from her office, asking her to come in for some emergency. Knowing the people she worked with, Alfred assumed some newbie had gotten confused by the fax machine after having one two many cups of coffee, and had a panic attack right in the workroom.

It happened at least every month.

Alfred wouldn't be surprised if something of the sorts happened at Gilbert's house. It hadn't even been ten minutes since everyone had arrived, and it looked like someone had already spiked the drinks...

* * *

"Birdie!"

"Hm?"

"Here, this is Alfred's drink. You can take it out."

"...Are you sure we should be doing this? It doesn't feel right to add alcohol to the punch..."

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a party pooper. It's what you're _supposed _to do at parties!"

"Alright...but do you think it'll actually work? I mean, do you think it'll have that kind of effect on Al?"

"Of course. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Ivan's curiosity had grown at the mention of Alfred's name. Leaning against the wall of the dining room, which conveniently had an open entrance to the kitchen, he strained to hear the conversation taking place in the kitchen without making it obvious he was eavesdropping. He recognized the voices of Matthew and Gilbert immediately.

Light violet eyes widened at the mention of alcohol. Ivan didn't expect any less from the Prussian, but for Matthew to go along with it, that really surprised him. What were they trying to accomplish by this?

Whatever it was, he doubted it required an intoxicated Alfred. Though, that _would _be an interesting sight to see...Actually, never mind. Alfred was bad enough as it was, it was a scary thought to think of what he'd be like drunk. Would one cup even have an effect on him?

Ivan brought himself back to the present as something moved beside him. Snapping his head toward the kitchen door, he saw...nothing.

Had he just imagined it? No, now he saw Matthew, already passing through the large entrance into the living where he had left Alfred, red plastic cup in hand.

Following quickly, Ivan found the two brothers together, one making to hand the drink over to the other. Not wanting to risk anything happening, Ivan pushed his way through the mass of people until he stood at their side.

"Ah, Alfred!" he had to nearly yell to be heard over the music that should have deafened them all by now. Why did parties have to be so loud?

"Oh, hey, big guy! Did you get bored already?" Alfred turned his attention to the Russian, quickly forgetting about the Canadian who was still beside him.

"Da, I've never been in Gilbert's house before, so I'm a little lost." Well, it _was _true.

"I guess that makes sense. Here, I can show you around if you want?" Alfred had already started pulling Ivan away and deeper into the foreign house.

Ivan felt awkward as Alfred led him through a particularly dense part of the crowd. "Um, I don't think that's necessary..."

"Nonsense! Here, I know a room that's quiet. You don't look very comfortable."

With a few turns and past a couple of doors, they found a room away from the party. The walls weren't sound proof, so music and voices still made their way to Ivan ears, but it was easy enough to block them out.

"We're the only ones in here," Ivan commented.

Moving a pillow out of the way, Alfred plopped onto the single couch against the wall, resting his arms on the back of it. "Yup, I don't think a lot of people know about this room, since it's sort of complicated to find. But I've been here enough times to know this place by heart - except for the bathrooms. I can never find the fucking bathrooms."

Ivan chuckled and joined the blonde on the opposite side of the couch.

"So, you liking the party?" Alfred asked.

Ivan's response was a sound of non-commitment, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"That much, huh?"

"Parties are..." Ivan smiled and shook his head, "Mmm, no. I have a good reason for avoiding them."

"Well, that's okay. Not everyone's meant for this stuff, you know? So, why exactly is it that you hide from social interactions like they're the plague?"

Ivan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't want to be reminded of that right now.

He opened his mouth to make something up, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

* * *

"Did you give it to him?"

"No, Ivan came and distracted him. Alfred dragged him out of the room."

"Damn...Do you know where he was taking him to?"

"No, I heard something about showing him around, but it was hard to hear. But they went towards that room that Alfred always talks about."

"The one that's hard to get to?"

"Yes."

"...Oh~, well maybe they don't need a push after all?"

"Gilbert, please. Knowing my brother, the farthest they'd get is Alfred talking _at _Ivan about how fun parties are or something."

"Then I guess it's time for our little party game?"

"I guess so. I'll go get them."

[line break]

"Yeah?" Alfred answered.

The door opened halfway to show Matthew standing uneasily. He spoke softly, just loud enough to be heard, "Gilbert's starting a game, and he wants everyone to play. Could you guys come out so we can start?"

The two on the couch looked at each other, both wondering the same thing.

Standing up, they met Matthew at the door and followed him into the living room, wondering what this game could be. Alfred had been friends with Gilbert for years, and with this in mind, he knew that he should be worried.

In the room, it was even more crammed full of people than they remembered leaving it. Somehow, Ivan and Alfred were still able to squeeze into what was supposed to be a circle. Sitting, they waited for this thing to start.

Matthew stayed off to the side, watching from the sidelines.

The half-whispered conversations that buzzed around the room were quickly put to an end as the albino drew the attention to him.

"Alright, everyone! I've got a very special game for all of us~! You see this teddy bear?" he held up a soft brown bear that looked like it'd seen better days. "Well, you all are going to pass this around the, er...circle...until it gets back to the first person who had it. When you get the bear, kiss it wherever you want. Once it gets back to me, I'll tell you what to do form there."

And so the game began. The first girl kissed it on the nose, then passed it on to the boy next to her, who, being on the more perverted side of the fence, kissed it on its vital regions. The few people around him laughed, the giggles growing as the stuffed animal was passed further down the line.

When it reached Alfred, he considered following as most of the other boys had done, but decided against it and went for a simple peck on the mouth, feeling a bothered by the fact that he hadn't been the first one to do that. He quickly passed it to Ivan.

Once everyone had their turn, the Prussian took the bear back, handing it to Matthew to hold onto.

Now the question of what happened next hung in the air. Gilbert excitedly answered that question.

"And now that that's over with, here's the fun part of this game. Everyone look to the person on their right. When it's your turn, now you have to kiss them on the same spot. Get to work!"

Gilbert clapped his hands, and chaos ensued. Alfred watched. Arthur and Francis were one of the first ones to go, and the American had to turns his gaze to the side. It just didn't feel right to watch them, especially after he still hadn't forgiven Francis for practically stealing the Brit from him.

Of course, the Hero wasn't jealous. He'd already accepted a long time ago that whatever he and Arthur had was best forgotten. At least, that's what he told himself in that moment, trying not to get jealous over something so stupid.

Once that was over with, Alfred slowly go into laughing with everyone else as people went down the line completing the task, some instances being worse than others. Many blushed, many laughed, and many enjoyed the game.

Until it was Alfred's turn.

After getting a small kiss on the top of the head by a shy girl to his left, Alfred turned to his right to see who he had to kiss.

He locked gazes with violet eyes.

"Oh, fuck no," Alfred stood up abruptly, switching his gaze to glare at Gilbert while pointing down at the Russian. "I'm not kissing him."

Gilbert shrugged, "Too bad, it's the rules of the game. You have to."

Alarmed and agitated, Alfred stuttered slightly, "I don't _have_ to do anything!"

"Well, as long as you're playing this game, you do."

In the corner, Matthew violently brought his palm to his forehead. _'Way to go, Gilbert. I guess there goes our plan B...'_

"Is that so? Well then in that case, I'm not playing anymore." With that said, Alfred quickly made his exit, leaving a perplexed Ivan behind him.

The room was quiet, and it was broken by the ruffle of clothes as Ivan stood up as well. Before leaving the room, he quietly excused himself, "I think it's best if I talked to him. By all means, keep playing."

The silence was left hanging for a beat until the group silently agreed to just act like that hadn't happened, and the game continued.

* * *

Alfred sunk into the halls of the large house, not really going anywhere. Now that he was alone, he felt stupid. He still didn't want to kiss the Russian, but it didn't mean he had to have that kind of reaction...

Why didn't he want to kiss Ivan? Well, he _was _his enemy...but that wasn't true, was it? In only a little over a week, they'd managed to be in each other's company without anyone getting seriously injured, and Ivan had said he considered Alfred a friend, right? If that was true, then there shouldn't have been a problem, considering it was just a game.

Did the reason really matter, though? Either way, it still led to the same fact: Alfred just didn't want to kiss Ivan, and that was as far as he wanted to think into it right then.

Finally noticing his surroundings, Alfred realized his was almost back to the main part of the house. Nearing the entrance hall, he heard the sound of music being played once again, and saw the figures of people gathered in the rooms. It looked like the game ended.

Matthew was the first to see his brother reappear, and maneuvered around dancing teenagers to get to him.

"Hey, Mattie."

"Hi. What was that back there?"

"Dude, I don't know, and I don't really want to think about it."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Alfred shrugged uncaringly. "Eh, it doesn't really matter. I just want a drink right now."

Matthew looked down at his hand. He was still carrying the special cup with alcohol in it that was supposed to go to Alfred.

In a last minute decision, Matthew stopped his brother on the way to the kitchen.

"Here, Al, you can have mine. I'll go get my own." Matthew handed the drink to Alfred, faking a generous smile.

Alfred smiled. "Thanks." He took a sip, grimacing slightly as the bubbles burned his throat on the way down. He passed it off, believing it was just a different soda than he was used to.

Looking around at the walls, Alfred asked, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Umm...no, but I'm guessing it's about twelve. Why?"

"Well, I promised Mom that we'd have our feet pass the door by eight tomorrow, and I know how irritated you are when you don't get at least seven hours of sleep.

"I don't get _that _irritated...Wait, so we're staying the night?"

"Yeah, you do. It's sort of scary. Anyway, yes, Gilbert agreed to let us stay here with him and his brother for the night, and I think I've had enough partying for one day."

"Well, go find Ivan then and let him know. I'll find Gilbert and tell him you're ready to go to bed."

Alfred huffed, "I'm doing this for you, bro. I'm not tired at all!"

"Sure you aren't, Al. Sure you aren't."

* * *

"You finally got him to drink it?"

"Yup, he drank all of it in almost one go."

"And now he's ready to crash?"

"Yes, I told them they were sharing your second guest bedroom since the other one only had a single sized bed. They're up there now. I just hope they don't catch on to why I put them in there."

"Why _did _you put them together?"

"..."

"Wow, birdie, you have a dirtier mind than I thought you did...I like your thinking."

"It's not like much will happen though. He only had one cup, so I doubt it'll have much more of an effect on him than him getting just a little more uncoordinated than usual."

"...I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"Why not?"

"Well...the drink was probably more spiked than you think."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Here, this is what I put in it."

"...Gilbert! This is straight alcohol! A thirty year old man could get drunk off a couple shots of this."

"I put half the bottle."

"...Al...I just hope you don't do anything stupid."

* * *

Alright, PastaKolCheeseburger-San, time for you to get your ten cents worth in.

And also, while I was writing this, I realized that the "twist" to the game seemed really obvious...I wasn't sure if that was just because I already played it and knew what it was, or if it really was obvious...either way, I can tell you from experience that when you're the one playing it, it's a whole lot worse than reading it.


	16. Dolphins Don't Have Knee-Caps

Wow, can you believe it? I actually got this chapter out in one week! I decided not to wait until Halloween after all, since I actually had free time this weekend.

This chapter turned out a lot differently than I had originally planned a while ago. It's a bit short, barely 2000 words, but I mean, hey! I got it out in a _week_. Aren't you guys proud of me? *laughs*

So, some shit goes down in this chapter, but perhaps not as much as some of you would like. But I like going slow, so...

Enjoy!

* * *

It didn't take long for Alfred to have an inkling that the punch wasn't one hundred percent punch. A few minutes after downing the drink and tossing the cup, he could already feel his balance was off.

Holding onto the rail cautiously, the American made his way up the flight of stairs that led to the bedrooms. This wasn't the first time he had crashed at Gilbert's house, so finding the guest room wasn't a difficult mission.

Alfred swung the door open, not bothering to close it before he moved the small dresser in the corner and began to strip himself of his costume. He found himself staring at the leather chaps for a while.

_These things are so weird, _he thought to himself. _Why is there a giant hole directly on the ass? I mean, are they trying to lead people to believe these are actually kinky sex pants? _He chuckled slightly and tossed the pants to the side, continuing to remove whatever clothing would be uncomfortable to sleep in. He briefly considered just sleeping naked, but then he remembered that there was a certain Russian that would probably be sharing the room with him.

_Like hell I'm gonna let him see this body._

Alfred groaned. He really didn't want to think about Ivan right then. He settled to think about a much better topic: global warming. At least that being a conspiring commie that Alfred knew purposefully sat to his right during a game that tried to make him kiss said commie - because Alfred knew that Ivan did.

Yes, global warming was much better.

[line break]

Ivan found the guest bedroom Matthew had told him of. He didn't see why Alfred's brother wouldn't let him take the couch, since he had said he would have been perfectly content to take it instead, but it seemed that wasn't the Canadians plan.

He could hear people beginning to leave from downstairs, and couldn't help but feel that Matthew and Gilbert were trying to accomplish something. Honestly, he didn't want to know.

The door was already open when Ivan arrived at the room, and he reluctantly entered, avoiding eye contact with the blonde already there, sitting at the foot of the bed. Without a word he began to take of his costume as well, laying it near the discarded pile of cowboy clothes. He was relieved to get out of the hot fur suit.

"Ivan!" Alfred suddenly exclaimed, making the Russian jump a little.

Without turning around, Ivan asked, "What?"

"I just realized something!"

"...And what would that be?"

"Dude, dolphins don't have knee-caps."

Ivan stopped undressing and turned around to give Alfred and incredulous look. Surely he was joking...

This didn't seem to be the case, though, as Alfred sat there in his UFO boxers, looking like he had just been revealed the secret of life.

"I...am not sure how to respond to that..."

The blonde shot up from the bed, stumbling a little as he jumped to Ivan, grabbing his arms. "Don't you get it? Since dolphins don't have knee-caps, they started working with the aliens to create global warming so we'd stop hunting them!"

"What? Alfred, that makes no sense."

"Whatever, dude, you aren't American, so you aren't advanced enough to understand these things."

Alfred let go of Ivan's arms and sat back down on the bed with a crooked smile that Ivan assumed was supposed to look smug. He would never understand the blonde. Alfred must've been even more tired than he thought.

Shaking his head, he continued to take off the remained of his costume, leaving on his t-shirt, boxers, and scarf. With his clothes folded and set on top of the dresser, Ivan turned around again.

It was strangely quiet now, and Alfred wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, he looked somewhat sad as he sat on top of the covers of the large bed, twiddling his fingers. He seemed like he was thinking hard about something. Based on his outburst before, Ivan wasn't sure if it was something actually important, or just another idea brought on by drowsiness.

"What are you thinking about?" Ivan asked quietly. Alfred didn't respond immediately, but instead his expression became even more concentrated than before. Now that the only sound between them was the decreasing background noise from downstairs, Ivan felt his awkwardness around the American return. The turn-out of that game Gilbert had them play was still fresh in his mind.

After Alfred had suddenly left the room, he had tried to follow him to ask him what was wrong. He never did find the blonde, except for when he returned to the living room and saw a glimpse of Alfred throwing away something and then disappearing up the stairs. That was when Matthew approached him and told him the sleeping arrangements for that night, and now here he was, waiting for the American to say something.

Finally, Alfred spoke up. "Hey, Ivan...did you dance with anyone?"

After a moment, Ivan realized what he had asked. He wasn't sure why he was asking, but at least it made more sense than before.

"No. I figured that would be obvious, don't you think?"

"Oh...I didn't either." There was a brief pause before Alfred asked another question. "Did you want to?"

"Not particularly. There was no one to dance with, anyway."

"Well, I wanted to. All night kept trying to ask. But apparently those dickheads had other plans. They kept interrupting me as soon as I was going to, can you believe that?"

"Um...sure..."

"And then the _one time _I was able to ask you, they just _had _to play the slow song. How messed up is that?"

Ivan looked down awkwardly. He remembered that. Wait, then that meant... "You were trying to ask me all night?"

"Yeah, dude! You wouldn't believe how many times I tried. It was kind of pathetic really, but then again, this whole situation is based on pathetic, you know? Like, it was pathetic that that damn Arthur actually fell for someone like Francis, then it was pathetic that he had to fall for him behind my back. It's pathetic that he didn't tell me until the time I really needed him to be with me. It's pathetic that I was so mean to all those people who wanted me to go with them because I still thought that Arthur wasn't being pathetic. Then it's even more pathetic that I found out because they had the nerve to kiss in front of me, then I went and pathetically made that damn bet with Gilbert and ended up pathetically asking you to the dance even though I kind of hated you, just because I was that pathetically desperate." Alfred couldn't control what was coming out of his mouth now. His words were beginning to slur together ever so slightly the faster he spoke, and he desperately hoped that Ivan understood him, and also hoped that he didn't understand a thing he said. His mind was too muddy to sort out how this could be.

He kept talking. "Of course, then it was pathetic that I didn't stop this while I could have when I realized that I didn't really want to take you, but pathetically whined about it to Matthew and my mom. It was pathetic that I actually listened to my family's advice and made pathetic attempts to get on better terms with you so that we wouldn't try to, well, kill each other before this whole thing blew over. It was pathetic that I didn't pay attention to the name of that damn rice, it was pathetic that I couldn't work up the nerve fast enough to ask you to dance when there was an opening, and it was pathetic how many times I _did _try, it's pathetic that I reacted so badly during the game because I was afraid to kiss you."

Ivan bit his lip. He knew it was best to let Alfred get it all out of system before he tried to make a comment.

"And you know what the most pathetic thing of all of this that tops it off in one big pathetic sandwich?" Alfred looked Ivan in eye. All the Russian could do was shake his head. "It makes me want to cry, it's so painfully pathetic, that it took getting pathetically drunk of that damn spiked punch to realize that during all of this pathetic-ness, I've pathetically gone and fallen for you."

He wished he could take the words back. Alfred imagined himself reaching out with super-human speed and snatching them out of the air before they reached Ivan, then locking them in a box and throwing them in a river so they'd never come out again.

Unfortunately, his drunken imagination was nothing more than that, and there was no way to take back what had slipped from him. All he could do was hope that Ivan would show some mercy and not decide to kill him right there in the guest room.

Ivan stared wide eyes, speechless. Did Alfred really just say that? Yes, yes he did. He sighed slowly and stepped towards Alfred.

_Oh great, here it comes,_ Alfred thought. _He's going to kill me._

"No, I'm not going to kill you," Ivan said, shaking his head. Alfred realized he had said that out loud. He flushed and looked away.

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Ivan said softly.

Alfred looked at the other, confused. But, he had just told him he liked him, and now Ivan was saying to not be sorry? Did that mean...?

"It's just the alcohol talking. I know you didn't mean it."

Somehow, Alfred thought he'd rather have been told Ivan hated him than hear that.

"But...I did mean it..." Alfred realized that he should have been agreeing with Ivan instead of setting himself up to be punched, but it seemed right now what he wanted to do had no affect on what he did do.

Ivan shook his head again. "No, you didn't. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't change your mind about anyone after only a couple of weeks with them. You're too stubborn. Now come on, before you hurt yourself of something, why don't we just go to bed."

Ivan's tone left no room to argue. Ivan stood up and walked around the bed, sliding into his side and turning off the bed-side lamp. Alfred reluctantly did the same, purposefully separating himself as much as he could form the Russian. He didn't know if this was worse than being rejected, but either way it hurt. He didn't want to believe that he was hurting over _Ivan_. Maybe it was just the alcohol.

Maybe it was just the alcohol.

[line break]

Ivan lay in the bed for and hour after the last light was turned off. The noise downstairs was non-existent, and he could hear the calm breaths beside him. Alfred had fallen asleep fairly quickly. If only Ivan was that lucky.

He wanted to believe Alfred, he really did. But he knew better than to trust what someone says when even they might not be sure what they're saying. From the unmistakable slur that Alfred had, Ivan guessed it wouldn't be unlikely if Alfred forgot about it the next morning.

Again, if only Ivan was that lucky.


	17. Fucking Pills

Woo! Next chapter is out. And it's been exactly a week on the dot since the last update, so yay! However, ignoring that awesome news, I have some sad news (well, maybe not that sad, but it is for me). This story is finally at it's end! There will be one more chapter after this, and then it's over *cries*. I'll try to get the last chapter out by Wednesday night. Key word: try. With homework and all that crap, I have a hard enough time getting these chapters out in a week, and the next one - I expect - will be longer than usual. So if you guys don't get an email on Wednesday announcing an update, just know that I really tried. You might get it on Thursday if you're lucky.

Oh, and once again, proofreading. What is that? I'm guessing you all are used to it by now though...

Anyway, enough with that! Onto the chapter.

* * *

The first two things Alfred registered when he woke up the next morning were the pangs of a hangover. His head throbbed and his stomach churned, both synchronized so perfectly that it prevented him from doing much more about it then a week groan.

Already woken up and in the middle of changing into spare clothes Gilbert must have dropped off during the night, Ivan heard the small sound of pain from the bed and rushed to the blonde's side.

"What's wrong? Are you awake?"

Alfred cringed at the noise next to his head. "Don't yell," he whined.

"Alfred, I'm barely above a whisper. That's just you."

"Well, whisper quieter." Alfred pulled the covers over his head tightly, trying to block out the noise. It worked - for a few seconds. Then Ivan asked again.

"What's wrong?"

The question hung in the air for a few seconds as Alfred tried to figure what _wasn't _wrong. Finally, he settled for, "Everything."

Ivan huffed. "That's helpful. What's _most _wrong right now, then?"

Alfred groaned again. "Fucking Gilbert, fucking spiked drink, fucking hangover, fucking headache, fucking stomach...fucking everything." He pushed the covers down from his and ran his hand through the already disheveled locks in his eyes. "Make yourself useful and just get me some pills, or something, 'kay?

"You sure you don't want some _fucking _pills?" the Russian smirked.

Alfred slapped his palm to his forehead, sliding it down to cover his eyes. "That sentence was so wrong in _so _many ways..."

"What?" After a few moments of processing, Ivan rolled his eyes. "And people call _me _the perverted one."

"Hey, you totally set that up for me. Not my fault I have a teenage boy's mind. Now go get me those fucking pills."

Ivan smiled and stood, leaving the room to find someone in the house that knew where to get some medicine that would ease Alfred's pain. His heart was still beating faster like it had since he woke up. So far so good; Alfred didn't seem to remember.

Down the stairs, he began to smell the familiar aroma of food cooking. It seemed they'd be getting a breakfast of pancakes and sausage.

"_Dobre utra_," Ivan called as he entered the kitchen. Matthew was stacking some freshly made pancakes onto a plate, Gilbert next to him, struggling at stacking his wurst into a pyramid - a rather lame pyramid which was knocked over as Gilbert jumped at the sudden appearance of the Russian.

The albino mourned over his fallen creation, leaving Matthew to speak. "Good morning, Ivan. Is Alfred up yet? If he isn't just tell him food's on the table. He'll be down here before you can begin down the stairs," the Canadian said shaking his head.

"_Nyet_. The idiot's still tired from last night. I don't think he'll be getting out of bed soon." Ivan wasn't sure if it was just in his mind, but the two others in the room seemed to be trying to hide matching smiles.

"Is that so?" Gilbert asked innocently, now opting to just throw the sausages onto the plate as he saw fit.

"_Da_. He asked me to come down here to get him some pain medicine. Or, as he's taken a liking to calling things this morning, some _fucking _pain pills." Okay, Gilbert and Matthew were most _definitely _trying to suppress smiles - and failing - as the stole a glance at each other. Gilbert even let a small snort out before he was able to collect himself.

"There's a bathroom a few doors down to right of the room you two slept in last night. If you look under the sink, there should be some aspirin in the front."

"Thank you." Ivan nodded and left the room while Matthew and Gilbert immediately abandoned the food to whisper excitedly.

Back up the stairs, down the hall, past their room, Ivan successfully found the bathroom after a few tries. Finding the bottle was easy enough, and after filling a small cup with tap water, he headed back to his shared room.

Alfred looked up from under the covers as the other entered the room. "Yay," he groaned half-heartedly as Ivan set the water and capsule on the bed-side table, smiling softly at the American.

"I'm giving you the pill, just because I know you wouldn't have stopped asking for it if I didn't, but try not to rely on it. The water's better for you than any pill at this point. That and sleep."

Alfred popped the small medicine into his mouth, and then quickly downed the water in a few gulps. The empty cup was handed back to Ivan. "Thanks."

"It wasn't a problem. Are you feeling well enough to eat? Matvey and Gilbert have breakfast ready."

"I'm always feeling good enough to eat!" Alfred proclaimed, attempting get out of the bed as quickly as possible. He had to fight for a few moments with the initial dizziness of standing too quickly as he raced down to the kitchen, but besides that he was fine. Honestly, he'd seen enough movies to know that what he had could barely be considered a hangover with how mild it was, but it was fun to make Ivan do stuff for him.

"Don't hurt yourself," the Russian commented to the empty room. Matthew knew his brother too well.

Following Alfred, he too returned downstairs for the meal.

Once everyone was seated, small talk filled the gaps between eating, mostly small comments between the three who weren't Ivan. He remained silent, content with simply listening to the others talk while he enjoyed the food.

"Where'd you get those clothes?" Alfred asked. It took a moment for Ivan to realize the question was directed at him. He looked up, swallowing what was still in his mouth.

"They were there when I woke up. Actually, there were two piles. Both had sticky notes with our names on it. I assume you left them for us last night?" he asked, turning to Gilbert.

The albino made a small sound of confirmation. "The ones your wearing are some _mein bruder_'s that are too big for him. He won't mind...I think. Alfred, I just left you some of mine. That okay?"

"Yeah, dude, of course!" Alfred smiled. "Speaking of your brother, where is he? I didn't see him last night either..."

"He was here alright, you just didn't see him 'cause he was hanging out with Feli," he said in a teasing tone. It was obvious Ludwig bagged a lot taunts from his older brother about that.

"And this morning?"

"Ah, he's probably out running. He gets up at five in the freaking morning, and runs for about three hours straight. I swear that kid's got issues. Actually, he should be back any minute now..."

Alfred paused, thinking for a moment. "Wait...what time is it?"

Gilbert looked at the digital clock on the microwave. "Mmm, 'bout seven thirty. Why?"

"Oh, shit!" Alfred stood up, suddenly panicked.

"Al, what's wrong?" Matthew asked.

"I told Mom we'd be _inside the house _no later than eight! We gotta go. Like, now."

Nodding, Matthew joined his brother in stacking everyone's plates and setting them in the sink.

Alfred hurried to the room and put on the spare clothes Gilbert had left them, then quickly gathered up his and Ivan's costumes from the night before and stuffed them into a single plastic bag he found on the floor. Ready to go, he met the other three at the door.

"First we gotta take Ivan home, then Mattie and I have to be home before eight. On a normal day, that would take about forty minutes, but we don't have that, and our mom will literally kill us if we come home late again. Gilbert, you willing to speed a little?"

The albino smirked. "Always. You tell me where to go, and I'll get you there."

Once in the truck painted as the Prussian flag, they wasted no time on getting on the road. Despite the anxious atmosphere, Gilbert tried to start a conversation with the Russian and the American in the back.

"So~. What did you two do last night after the party ended?"

It was silent for a while, and realizing Alfred wasn't going to speak, Ivan did, now anxious for a different reason than limited time. "Ah...One people started leaving, I went up and found Alfred in the guest room. We both figured out very quickly that one or both of you two spiked his drink."

The two in the front sunk down in their seats awkwardly.

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Gilbert asked again, slightly less enthusiastic this time.

"Well, Alfred started...talking."

Matthew's interest spiked again. "What did he talk about?"

"Well...he seemed very interested in the fact that dolphins don't have knee caps."

"They don't?" Gilbert asked, genuinely astonished.

Matthew sighed. "No, Gil, they don't. They don't have legs, so no knees. Nevertheless knee caps."

"Huh...weird. So? That can't possibly be _all _he talked about. Enlighten us."

Ivan shifted in his seat, looking down at his lap. "Most of it was just drunk talk. Nothing really comprehendible or important..."

Alfred bit his lip, but didn't say anything - until Gilbert turned to him when they had to stop for a stoplight.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"No. I was too drunk to remember anything," he lied, "Whatever Ivan says is probably true."

A moment of silence passed, and the truck moved again. Matthew turned around in shotgun to look at the two incredulously. "That's it?"

"Yeah, why? You sound like you expected something else," Alfred accused lightly. He knew what Gilbert and Matthew were trying to get at. He had figured it out as soon as they had started whispering occasionally during breakfast and gland Ivan and him. He wished he could tell them to give it up, but he couldn't do that now since the Russian was sitting right next to him.

"N-nothing..." the Canadian trailed off, flustered. He faced forward again, keeping his gaze on the road. It looked different now that they weren't seeing it at night. There were a lot more colors.

Gilbert felt like he could reach out and actually feel the awkwardness between the four of them at that moment. He just hoped they were close.

"We're in a neighborhood...now which one is his house?"

"His favorite flower is the sunflower."

"That is possibly the most random and useless thing I have heard my entire life. And with having to be around Feliciano as much as I do, that's saying a lot."

"No, you'll know what I mean in a second."

"What's that supposed to - _Mein gott_...that is a _shit _load of sunflowers!"

The yellow forest around the familiar house came into sight without a minute to spare. Gilbert brought his beloved truck to a halt and stared at the overwhelming clusters of flowers while Alfred and Ivan sorted things out in the back.

"Here's the bag with the costumes."

"This has yours in it, too."

"Yeah, there was only one bag. Take it. You can give it back to me later."

"No, you should take it. This would just be one more piece of evidence Natalia can and will use against me to find out where I've been."

"Shit, good point. Okay, I'll take it. You better go."

"_Da_." Ivan unbuckled and opened his door, preparing to slide out.

"W-wait!" Alfred stopped the Russian, grabbing his shoulder, then letting go quickly when Ivan turned around.

"_Da_?"

"Uh...did...did you have a fun time?" He asked earnestly.

Ivan took a few seconds to think about his answer, which turned out to be a simple, "Yes." He flashed Alfred a small, crooked smile, and shut the door, running up to the patio and slipping into his house as quietly as possible.

Alfred watched, now alone in the back seat. He didn't get any chance to linger on it, however, for as soon as Ivan was in, Gilbert hit the gas pedal.

"Alright, we've got a little less than ten minutes to get to your house. Be thankful I know the way by heart."

Everyone felt the pressure against their bodies as the truck accelerated, everyone too restless about getting to the last stop on time to talk.

A few red lights ran, a couple of cops avoided, and six minutes later, Gilbert pulled the Prussia-Mobile into Alfred and Matthew's driveway.

Good-byes were brusque, and in no more than thirty seconds, the two brothers were unlocking the door and the albino was backing into the street again.

"I'll let you know if anything comes up!" the Canadian called to Gilbert, who gave a quick salute to let him know he'd been heard.

Alfred swung the door open and replaced the key under the fake rock by the planter.

"We're home!" they announced in unison.

"Wow, two minutes _before _eight. That's a first." They're mom came out from the kitchen, amused smile on her lips. "So? Did you two have fun?"

"Yup! Gilbert and I set up the funniest party game back at his house, and at the dance, they played some pretty cool songs," Matthew elaborated.

"Really? You'll have to tell me about the party game. Alfred? How about you? Did you have fun?"

Two pairs of eyes were on the American now. He nodded, looking down at his feet, to the side, at the painting on the wall - anywhere but them. "Yeah, I guess." Alfred made his way to his room before anything else could be said. He tossed the bag of costumes on the floor an collapsed onto his bed. The conversation between their mom and his brother was barely audible, and he didn't feel like trying to listen in on it. It wouldn't be anything new to him, anyway.

Sighing, he thought about what would happen now. Not much, he supposed. After their week-long fall break, they'd all go back to school, and they'd resume life as it was before the dance, just like they did every year.

What _was _life before this whole ordeal? As far as Alfred could recall, it consisted of video games, Arthur, friends, and hating Ivan. Well, that wasn't going to happen again, would it? It was impossible to resume life as it was, now.

It was too much to think about any of this all at once when his head still ached slightly from the alcohol the previous night. The blonde got up from his bed to get some water from the bathroom. He figured it'd be best to follow the Russian's advice from earlier that morning.

He was just going to have a nice cup of water, and sleep on it. He could work it out later.

* * *

Wow, I think this is the only chapter were I didn't have at least one line break...weird.


	18. Chapter 18

Hello, again everyone! I wasn't able to get it done by last night, but I was able to get it out tonight. I welcome you to the last chapter! I'm really sad that this is ending, but I'm also happy that it's over. It's like raising a child, except not.

Anyway, I think I'm going to go back and do some editing on all the previous chapters just to make them as good as they can be for any future readers that stumble upon this thing. Plus, I might add one more chapter for some random notes. I'm thinking of also going back and counting how many times I used the word "awkward" in this story, since I fail at English and can't come up with anything better to save my life.

I hope the ending doesn't seem sudden, or rushed, or cheesy, because honestly, it is all of those things, but I tried to make it so it isn't as bad as it could be.

Enough of my rambling, the final chapter!

* * *

Dinner that night was, for once, excruciatingly quiet. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the cause; Alfred, the main contributor to most of their family's conversations was now as silent as the Canadian - if not more. It scared Matthew how every time he spoke, it was the loudest thing in the room. So, he chose not to talk either.

That left their mom to attempt to fill the void. Her endeavors were in vain, though. Every comment she made or question she asked was immediately shot down by one of the other two. Kudos to her, she kept trying, nonetheless.

"Alfred, how was your nap?"

"Fine."

"...Okay...How late did you two stay up last night?"

"Midnight."

"I see..."

The air around the three became more uncomfortable by the second, and it was taking its effect on all of them. Matthew felt bad for his mother; she was had no clue what was going on. Now that he thought about it, she was so out of the circle, she probably didn't even know there _was _a circle. Although, he still didn't know all the details, either, but at least he was aware that was more to it than what Ivan and Alfred had said in the car that morning. They were both terrible liars.

"What did everyone do at Gilbert's?"

"Party stuff."

"Like?"

"Games."

"What was a game you all played?"

That was when Matthew decided the conversation - if you could even call it that - shouldn't continue.

"Well," he stood up with his plate, "I'm done. Al, I uh, got a new video game the other day. You want to come back with me and try it out?"

Alfred stood with more enthusiasm than necessary. It was obvious the interrogation session had been torture for him.

"Mom, can you do the dishes tonight?" Alfred asked her, silently pleading.

She sighed. "Oh, alright. Don't stay up so late again playing that game."

"Don't worry, we won't."

After that, Matthew led Alfred back to his room and sat in the desk chair, and the other took the bed. Alfred knew they weren't playing a video game as soon as they entered this familiar set up. This was how they sat whenever they were about to "talk about life" or whatever they called it in the soap operas he knew Matthew was secretly watching.

"What is it?" Alfred asked impassively.

Matthew stared at his brother. "I could ask the same to you. You've been acting really differently ever since we got into Gil's truck - and don't tell me you 'aren't feeling well' or any of that."

Alfred remained quiet. He knew what the Canadian wanted to hear, and he knew he would have to fess up eventually. Right now he'd rather pretend like the lie he'd told earlier that morning was true.

_"I was too drunk to remember anything." _Yeah, right. He wasn't even drunk enough to get a proper hangover. No, he remembered everything. But he wished he didn't.

"Well?" Matthew pressed, "What happened?"

Still nothing.

"Did something happen last night?"

"...Yeah." Well, it was a start.

"Is this related to what happened during the game?"

"Well..." Alfred leaned back, laying his head on Matthew's pillow. "Yes and no."

"So...does this have to do with Ivan?"

"Yeah," the American nodded, the action barely visible. The Canadian nearly yelled out in joy; they were finally getting somewhere! He kept in to the inside, however.

His brother was talking now, so he saw no point in delaying what needed to be asked. "Al, I've known since we were born. I know you. And I know that you suck so badly at lying it's not even funny. So can you just tell me what happened that's made you so...off?"

The blonde on the bed huffed.

"I won't tell anyone. Not mom, not Ivan...come on, nothing can be so bad that you can't tell me."

"I know but...Alright," the American sighed. "Last night...I know you and Gilbert were teaming up on us. You wanted something to happen. Otherwise you wouldn't have given me the only punch that was spiked."

"How did you-?"

"You suck at lying, too. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Anyway, I got a little...well, pretty tipsy, and I just started talking."

"About?"

"Well, you heard Ivan. The first thing was the whole dolphins and kneecaps thing...I have no idea where I came up with that. But then...I got upset. I just started ranting about how pathetic everything was and...I said a few things that I shouldn't have."

Matthew's attention was solely focused on Alfred now. He had an inkling of where this was going, but he wasn't sure if it was bad or good, yet.

"What did you tell him?"

"A lot of things. But at the end, I told him that I..._liked _him. It just slipped out of my mouth."

Yes! He knew his brother had been taking a liking to the Russian. "How did he react?"

"...He didn't believe me." The solemn statement threw Matthew off. "He told me that it was the drink speaking and that I didn't mean it. Then he told me to go to sleep, and after a while I just...did. He was really nice the whole time though. So confusing, that damn Russian..."

"Was it?"

Alfred looked at the Canadian confused. "Was it what?"

"Was it the drink speaking?"

The question earned a moment of thinking. "I...I don't know. I kind of want to believe it was, based on his reaction. But, I kind of don't. I just wish I hadn't been drunk, at least then if I had said anything, I would get an honest reaction. Or better yet, I wouldn't have said anything at all."

"Would you like to tell him again later when he knows you're in the right mind? Well, as right in the mind as you can get."

Alfred shook his head. "One time of rejection was enough, Mattie. I don't need to go through it again."

"But," the Canadian scooted his chair closer, "Don't you think it'd feel better to get rejected because they honestly didn't like you back, rather than because they thought you didn't mean it?"

"No. Both suck."

Matthew groaned. "You're impossible."

"I know." The blonde smiled, and finally chuckled a little. He was already starting to act like himself again.

* * *

The week passed by in a few blinks. With only one day one day left in their small break, Alfred was going stir crazy. He and his brother had stayed home the entirety of the break so far, and it was starting to get to the American. He needed McDonald's, he needed more video games, and he needed social contact.

The dial tone filled Alfred's ear as he waited for the other to pick up.

"_Hai_?"

"Yo, Kiku!" Alfred shouted happily. It was so nice to hear a different voice for once.

"Alfred-san?"

"Yeah, it's me! Hey, um, I'm really bored, so do you think we could meet up sometime and just hang out?" the American asked hopefully.

"_Zannendesuga*..._I'm sorry, but unfortunately I've already made plans with my family."

Alfred deflated. "Oh, well. That's okay. Have fun, then."

"You too, Alfred-san. _Ja ne_."

"Yeah, see you later!" he said with false happiness, hanging up afterwards.

Well, _now _who was he going to call? He couldn't call Matthew, because he was literally one room away from him, Kiku had plans, and it would just be weird if he asked Arthur or Francis to spend the day with him. A name flashed to the front of his mind for a second. What about Ivan? He was sure he'd been free the whole vacation.

With no one else coming to mind, Alfred settled it: Ivan it was. The blonde debated whether or not he should call the other first, or just show up. It was nicer to call first, but if he just showed up, the Russian couldn't say no. Well, he could, but come on, who else did Ivan have to hang out with? He probably had it worse than Alfred did, so of course he'd be happy to see him. At least, Alfred hoped so.

Alfred grabbed a coat from the hanger next to the front door and tossed it over his shoulders. After throwing a quick goodbye to the house, he left for the Russian's.

* * *

The loud knocking on the door was unexpected, startling Ivan from another one of his bags of apples with peanut butter. Despite having heard it well enough, he waited for another round to make sure someone was actually there.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was another stream of bangs, louder and more impatient this time.

_'Probably UPS or something...' _he thought to himself as he set down his snack to answer the door. However, as he opened the entrance to the one behind it, it wasn't a UPS delivery at all. Alfred stood in front of him, bright blue eyes looking up at the Russian with a smile.

"Hey, big guy. Mind if I come in?"

Ivan stared for a second, trying to work the thought of the American coming to visit him around his mind. "Alfred?"

The other played with the bottom of his jacket idly, trying not to seem too odd. "Yeah, I figured you could use some company besides your sister and those billions of sunflowers. So? Can I come in?"

"Um, sure. Of course," Ivan said quickly, stepping aside to let the blonde in. "You came at a good time, actually. Natalia just left."

Alfred raised his eyebrows at the Russian, laying it on the back of the couch when they reached the living room. "How'd you get her to leave?"

"It wasn't that hard. I simply said," Russia made a face of sincerity, "'Please, Natalia, will you go get your big brother some food so he doesn't starve?'" He laughed. "She'll be gone for hours buying as much food from the store as she can - heaven forbid she loses me to starvation."

"Yeah, I suppose she'd have a hard time marrying a skinny corpse," Alfred commented, smiling. Now that he was in the house, he began to look around him, taking in what it looked like from the inside. Surprisingly, it reminded him of his. Not in the structural sense, but it had the same kind of safe feeling, like whatever was outside didn't exist, except for those damned sunflowers that crowded the window. It was still broad daylight outside, but the lights inside had to be turned on; it didn't seem like much light could break through the wall of yellow.

Alfred flopped onto the couch, picking up a book on the coffee table. He spent a second looking at the cover before he put it back down - it was written in Russian. Looking around the room appealed to him more than hurting his brain trying to read any of that language.

It was a rather plain setup; there was a good sized archway that opened up to the main entrance, then another into the kitchen, where Ivan had disappeared to. The room itself had the brown leather couch he was lying on (which was illegally comfortable), the wooden table, a tall bookshelf that was overflowing with more titles in Russian, and a T.V. - Alfred assumed a 48".

All in all, an oven mitt would be more interesting to most. But it pleased Alfred to know that Ivan lived so simply.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl. His stomach vibrated almost painfully. Flushing, he apologized to the Russian who had recently entered. "Sorry, I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

"That's alright," Ivan held out a slice of green apple with a glob of peanut butter on it. "Want some?"

Alfred just stared at the food blankly, then at Ivan, until the Russian realized his mistake. "Oh, right! I'm sorry. I completely forgot," he rushed, yanking the apple back like it would harm Alfred just by being near the blonde.

The other simply waved it off. "No, it's okay. Thanks for the offer. I'm still really hungry though, so...should we go get something to eat?"

Ivan grunted in agreement, tipping his chin forward in a small nod. As soon as Alfred had come in, he left, Ivan trailing right behind him.

"Where did you want to eat?" Ivan asked as they climbed into the car.

"Well...I was thinking of this one Italian food place. Mattie showed it to me a few days ago, and I was delicious."

"Italian food it is, then."

Alfred found his way back into the middle of town, and the once-green park came into sight. Sure enough, there was "Alimento Veleno," still standing proud across the street. Once they entered, Alfred noticed it was as crowded as before.

This time, they got Feliciano as their waiter (thank goodness).

"Ve~ Alfred! I didn't expect to see you here! And...Ivan..." Feliciano attempted to smile just as brightly for the Russian, despite his fear. "I'm glad to see you here, too!"

Alfred rolled his eyes. Ivan wasn't scary. It seemed Ludwig still hadn't fixed up Feliciano's fragility problems.

"Yeah, well, we're starving, so you got any tables?"

"Of course! There's always room for two. Ve, do you guys want one of the couple's tables?" the Italian asked innocently.

If Alfred had been drinking water, he'd have done a spit-take. Fortunately for the floor and all the people in front of him, he had no drink. So, he opted for sputtering. "N-no, a normal table's just fine."

"Okay, whatever you say~!" Feliciano led them happily to small table with two chairs and handed them both menus. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order." With that, he skipped away to the next customer.

Ivan shook his head. "Where does he get all that energy? It's amazing."

"It's annoying is what it is. By the way, I already know what I'm getting, so you just have to decide."

"I admit he does get on your nerves. What do you recommend? I've never been here before."

"Any of the pasta will be good, I can guarantee it."

"Alright. I'll just choose a random one when Feliciano comes back."

"Sounds good."

They didn't have to wait for long; the bubbly boy was checking back in with them in a couple of minutes, and took their orders. Alfred had to say, he liked this one better than Mr. Grumpy over in the corner, sulking.

Idle chat filled the time it took both plates of spaghetti came, steaming hot, and that's when the real conversation began. It didn't start until after a few minutes of silence, giving Alfred enough time to make a quick decision.

_"Don't you think it'd feel better to get rejected because they honestly didn't like you back, rather than because they thought you didn't mean it?"_

He supposed it would feel better - more solid.

_"Would you like to tell him again later when he knows you're in the right mind?"_

If he was going to, it had to be today, before school resumed.

Well, what better time than now?

"Ivan?"

"Mm?" the Russian hummed, violet eyes looking up, pasta still in his mouth.

"I meant it."

Alfred got a perplexed expression. "Meant what?"

"...I," he took a steady breath, "On Halloween, at Gilbert's party. You told me...you told me that it was the 'alcohol speaking' or something like that, but, it wasn't. I wasn't even drunk enough to throw up the next morning or anything. I - I knew what I was saying." He got it out in one go, pleased with himself for not tripping over his words too much.

The pleased feeling was dispelled quickly when all the response he got was slow chewing, a swallow, and eyes cast downward. The more seconds ticked by, the more he just wanted the other to say something - anything.

Finally, "So, you..._like _me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

The Russian's heart sped faster than he thought it was capable - he doubted it could accelerate any more. This was the same as that night - except now Alfred was sober. It had to be a misunderstanding; there was no way Ivan was that lucky. He shook his head. Yes, a misunderstanding.

The American's heart sank lower. "What kind of response was _that_? If you don't feel the same way, just say it."

Violet eyes blinked slowly, and thought over everything Alfred had said. So far, he didn't see how the other could have a different meaning for his words. If he really meant it then...He had thought too soon. His heart could beat _much _faster.

"No," Ivan slumped in shaky defeat, "It's not that. Not denying anything here, I really like you. I think I liked you before you even thought of us as friends. If you want, you can add that to your list of pathetic things that have happened this month."

Alfred did a double take on Ivan's words. "Wait, you mean that I've just gone the past week panicking that I made you hate me again by saying that, for nothing?"

"I'm sorry; I didn't know that's been happening. I honestly thought you were too drunk to function at the time," the Russian said defensively.

Alfred groaned, laying his forehead on the table, careful to avoid the plate of food. "Okay, that's - let's just move past that part. So let me get this straight: I like you, you like me, now what?"

"Well," Ivan started, "We _could _do what normal people do and uh...date..." the word felt foreign on the Russian's tongue, "Unless you think that's too cliché or something." Ivan teased Alfred lightly, hoping to make this whole thing a little less awkward.

"Okay, okay, so that was a given. But I mean, do you really want to? It would draw a lot of attention to both of us, probably more than you'd be comfortable with. We could, like, do it in secret like in all the movies, then only come out if we're forced to or when we're ready?"

"That's in the movies. That never works for very long. _Someone _finds out. Usually someone seemingly random..." He remembered spotting Arthur and Francis a few weeks ago. Now, that seemed like so long ago.

"I guess you're right...Wait, if we, you know, 'move past friendship' or whatever after this, does _this_ count as a date?" Alfred asked.

"If you want it to, sure. I don't see why not." Both of them had started on their food again, eating it before it got cold.

"So, I guess that means we're sort of dating now, right?"

"Sure."

"...Cool."

They left it at that, the tension in the air finally almost gone. With no talking in between, they finished the meals quickly, and Alfred paid quickly. After that, Alfred drove them back to Ivan's house.

They got out and walked to the porch, stopping in front of the door. Natalia was home.

"Looks like I should head off, then," Alfred remarked, kicking at the ground.

"Looks like it. So, does this count as the end of a first date?"

Alfred thought about it. "Actually, this would technically be our fourth."

"_Fourth_?"

"Yeah. First was the mall, then the festival, then Halloween, now today," he explained. "If we count all of those, we've been on four dates now."

"If what I've heard about dating and all," Ivan blushed slightly, "doesn't that mean that I'm about three dates overdue to kiss you?" Alfred laughed. "What?"

"Hello? The _guy _makes the first move."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

" Well, _obviously _you're the girl in this relationship."

Ivan crossed his arms, challengingly. "And what makes you say that?"

"Let's see, _I _asked _you _to the dance, you have a strange obsession with flowers, and I'm a hero - heroes are always the boys in a relationship. There are more reasons, but that would take too long to explain."

"Alfred, I'm taller than you. Wouldn't that make it strange if I was the girl?"

"Eh, it's not common, but it happens. Don't worry; you don't intimidate me or anything."

Ivan rolled his eyes, scoffing lightly. "_Fredka_-"

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that a few months ago?"

"You're missing the point. Last time I checked, I'm a boy. I'm nearly certain you're a male as well. So why don't we _both _be the 'guys', and just kiss already?"

Alfred pretended to think about it for a moment. "Well, I suppose that could work," he said, smiling goofily.

Finally, Alfred completed his turn in Gilbert's messed up game, and reached up, gripping the pale pink scarf for leverage, and pushed himself up for leverage to bring his lips to the Russian. Ivan returned the kiss softly for the few short seconds they stayed together.

When they pulled apart, Alfred looked thoughtful. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ivan chuckled. "_Nyet_, it was fine," _for my first kiss_, he added in his head. Even internally he knew he sounded like a girl, and he'd prefer to hang on to most of his pride. Alfred probably already knew, anyway.

Now, the Russian and the American said their goodbyes, and Ivan retreated into the house to meet his sister. Alfred drove home, already planning to spend the rest of the day telling Matthew every detail of what happened. But only his brother.

Despite what Ivan had told him, he knew they couldn't tell many people just yet. He wanted this to run as smoothly as possible and announcing it to the world right after break would mean the opposite of smooth. Either way, though, Alfred knew better than to expect any of this to stay calm for long.

If only they were that lucky.

* * *

*Zannendesuga... - Literally means "Unfortunately...", and is used in Japanese when you want to politely turn down an offer. In Japan, it's perfectly acceptable to not give a reason at all, and this is all you'd need to say.

**If you don't want to read all of this incredibly long author's note, skip to the bottom to **

At the end of writing this, I had a really big debate with myself over, "Should they, or should they not?" I wanted them to kiss, but I really didn't know if they should, given how soon it was. But then another part of me said that technically, they _had _been on four dates already, and Alfred was supposed to kiss Ivan anyway during the game a week before this, so in the end I decided that what the heck, let it happen.

I kind of fail at writing stuff like that actually, so I'm glad it was only a quick one...

On another note, I might add one more chapter for some random extra stuff. I'm thinking of also going back and counting how many times I used the word "awkward" in this story, since I fail at English and can't come up with anything better to save my life. Also, if there are any questions that you guys just really are wondering about, I might answer them in that chapter as well. So if you want to ask, ask away!

Oh, and finally, I don't know if you guys noticed this, but this took up about nine pages in Microsoft. Personally, I think there's something wrong with the formatting on here, because scrolling through it doesn't look much longer than any of the other chapters...meh. It was a long writing process for me.

Gah! I almost forgot! To all the people who reviewed this story:

PastaKolCheeseburger-San, Seborga-RPer, Teh Llaminator, Usagi323, Lars Solheim, ryuketsuki, Upsilon Forty-Two, Anne Fatalism Dilettante, Niji-Chi, DanieSora, Jieikobu, Mila, Vine8Ky, XxShatteredTrinketxX, firedragongirl, Kaylm Iditra, Dolce Latte van Creme, someone, tmmdeathwishraven, Yunaichi, L.L. of the Rebellion, ExAxL, ChubbyCubby23, Akakata7, Storm Dryu, .me.1, NG, ddarkestangel, Mastication-Defenestration, angelstryke, ashcola17, , CoffeeKitty13, HolyShitIt'sOozing, and a lot of other guests and anons (sorry if I spelled any of your usernames wrong),

thank you so much for leaving a review! It really warmed me read what you all thought and your reactions. You're awesome.

And then and even longer list to all the people who added this to their alerts/faves, which I'm not going to spend an hour trying to type (sorry!), you know who you are, and I can't tell you how much that means to me as well.

**The (somewhat) important part:**

****I really liked writing this, and I really don't want to stop writing. So! I've developed to new ideas for a story. If you go to my profile, you'll see the options, and I'd really like it if you voted. Truthfully, I like the second one better, but I'm pretty equal about both of them, so please vote for which one you want! (Considering I'm asking RusAme fans, I can already guess which one you're going to pick, but please vote anyway XD).


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